Since the dawn of time, man has had a fascination with weather, more so when he learned to sow crops; now mans existence was tied directly to weather. Given that we’ve been predominantly agrarian for more than 10,000 years or so, it should follow that we have a good body of experience to draw upon with regard to the observation of the weather, and understanding it’s patterns and cycles. Yet in today’s society, we ‘re quick to disregard or dismiss our old proverbs and fables – but should we?

I’d like to examine some of these old pieces of wisdom, and correlate them with modern meteorological evidence. Of course not all were accurate, but a surprising number are.

Modern meteorology has come a long way in the last hundred years; with the advent of weather radar to track and predict storm paths, as well as the science of climatology, and their ability to “read” the weather patterns and conditions hundreds of thousands of years into the past.

In this third chapter, we’ll explore a sampling of the Weather Lore at our disposal. What natural phenomenon did our forefathers  study and use to their advantage & why?

Introduction

The following Introduction, edited by the author, comes from “Weather Lore”, published in 1898 by Richard Inwards.

“The state of the weather is almost the first subject about which people talk when they meet, and it is not surprising that a matter of such importance to comfort, health, prosperity, and even life itself, should form the usual text and starting-point for the conversation of daily life.

From the earliest times, hunters, shepherds, sailors, and tillers of the earth have from sheer necessity been led to study the teachings of the winds, the waves, the clouds, and a hundred other objects from which the signs of coming changes in the state of the air might be foretold. The weather-wise amongst these primitive people would be naturally the most prosperous, and others would soon acquire the coveted foresight by a closer observance of the same objects from which their successful rivals guessed the proper time to provide against a storm, or reckoned on the prospects of the coming crops. The result has been the framing of a rough set of rules, and the laying down of many "wise saws ," about the weather, and the freaks to which it is liable. Some of these observations have settled down into the form of proverbs ; others have taken the shape of rhymes; while many are yet floating about, unclaimed and unregistered, but passed from mouth to mouth, as mere records of facts, varying in verbal form according to local idioms, but owning a common origin and purport .

Many weather proverbs contain evidence of keen observation and just reasoning, but a greater number are the offspring of the common tendency to form conclusions from a too limited observation of facts. Even those which have not been confirmed by later experience will be interesting, if only to show the errors into which men may be led by seeing Nature with eyes half closed by prejudice or superstition. It has seemed to me desirable that all this "fossil wisdom" should be collected, and I have endeavored in this book to present in a systematic form all the current weather lore which is in any way applicable to the climate of the British Isles.”

It would be strange if all the observations brought in this volume to a common focus did not cast a new ray or two of light on the point to which they have all been directed. Out of so many shots some must hit the mark, though the reader must be warned that even in this "multitude of counsel" there is not absolute safety. These predictions are, after all, but gropings in the dark; and although skilled observers, armed with the delicate instruments contrived by modern science, may be able to forecast with some success the weather for a few hours, yet with respect to the coming months and seasons, or the future harvests and vintages, the learned meteorologist is only on a level with the peasant who watches from the hilltop the "spreadings and driftings of the clouds," or hazards his rude weather guesses from the behavior of his cattle or the blossoming of the hedge flowers which adorn his paths.”

- Richard Inwards

Red Sky at Night

The Lore

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.
Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning

Weather lore concerning the appearance of the sky, the conditions of the atmosphere, the type or movement of the clouds, and the direction of the winds may have a scientific basis and likely can predict the weather.

Shakespeare said something similar in his play, Venus and Adonis.

Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.

The Science

Red sky at night, sailors delight.

When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.

A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

For More Weather Proverbs - buy a copy of Northern Lore