WEATER

Wisdom and Sayings

A long time ago when people lived mostly out-of-doors, they were close to nature. They noticed that plants, mammals, insects and birds sensed the coming of storm sooner than people did. All living things have a natural instinct to save their own lives, and so they look for shelter just before a storm. When ancient people saw animals seeking shelter, they acted the same.

Of course, plants and animals do not actually forecast weather, but they are good weather indicators. The elements that make up weather – atmospheric pressure, moisture, temperature, and wind – affect living things in special ways, and their reactions give clues to weather changes. The people of long ago called these clues “weather sign” and those who knew how to read the signs were often just as correct in their predictions as modern meteorologists, the scientists who study weather and collect weather information with special instruments.

Meteorologists tell us that during fair weather the air usually contains very little moisture. But just before a rain the air becomes damp and has a higher relative humidity. Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air compared to how much it could hold. When the air has all the moisture it can hold, it is saturated. You might compare it to a sponge. When a sponge is damp it is wet, but has relatively little moisture in it. When it is dripping wet, it is saturated.

Now meteorologists use special instruments to measure relative humidity, but in earlier times, people relied on nature to tell them when the humidity was high. Spiders were one of their best humidity indicators.

Normally, spiders spin their webs between 6 and 7 p.m. During calm, clear weather they don’t bother to make large webs or to take them in.

But when there is high humidity and a drop in air pressure, spiders work overtime building more and larger dragnets. Somehow they seem to know that insects will be easier to catch when the humidity is high. The moisture in the air soaks the insects’ wings, making it difficult for them to fly. However, since a heavy rain would ruin the net and wash away the bugs caught in it, spiders will take down their nets before a storm. And an old saying warns:

When spiders take in their net,
The ground will soon be wet.

Frogs and toads come out and feast on the easily caught insects when the air is cool and moist. Toads seldom come out when the air is dry. This is also true of frogs, and it is another reason why you can hear more of them before a rain.

Some people watch ants form weather clues. Anytime you see ants industriously building huge mounds around their holes, prepare for rain. About two hours before a downpour, all kinds of ants – but especially large black or red ones – will break up their caravans, scurry into their nests, and begin building dams around the ant hill. These mounds, which are sometimes several inches in height, prevent rainwater from running into the ant hills.

Bees give weather clues, too. They are usually active several hours before a rain, but as the humidity increases, they return to their hives. Some American Indians say that the longer the increased activity lasts, the longer the rain will be.

There is a saying which says:
If bees stay at home, rain will soon come;
If they fly away, fine will be the day.
Other insects are also good humidity indicators.

Butterflies usually flit from flower to flower all day long. When they suddenly disappear and can be found hiding on tree trunks or on the underside of leaves, they are seeking shelter to protect their fragile wings from a hard rain. Fireflies fly very low when there is a high relative humidity. But an old saying states:

When fireflies are about in large numbers,
The weather will be fair for the
next three days.

Watching birds people also understand what kind of weather is coming and some sayings prove it well:

Crow on the fence
Rain will go hence.
Crow on the ground
Rain will come down.

When the cuckoo comes to the bat thorn,
Sell your cow and buy your corn,
But when she comes to the full bit,
Sell your corn and buy your sheep.

When the peacock loudly calls,
Then look out for rain and squalls.

When sea birds fly to land,
A storm is at hand.

If chickens roll in the sand
Rain is at hand.

If a rooster crows when he goes to bed
He’ll get up with rain on his head.

If the cock moult before the hen,
We shall have weather thick and thin,
But if the hen moult before the cock,
We shall have weather hard as a block.

Domestic animals and plants are also very good at prompting weather and these sayings prove it:

When a cow tries to scratch her ear,
It means a shower is very near.
When she thumps her ribs with her tail,
Look out for thunder, lightning, and hail.

It is time to cock your hay and corn,
When the old donkey blows his horn.

Onion’s skin very thin,
Mild winter coming in.
Onion’s skin thick and tough,
Coming winter cold and rough.

Plants are especially good at humidity indicators. They are affected in different way. Just before a rain many flowers – like the daisy, tulip – close their blossoms, and clover plants draw their leaves together. It is believed that the absorption of moisture from the air causes a change in the leaf stalk, making the leaves turn over. It may be that the rough underside of the leaf can absorb rain better than the smooth topside.

Almost everyone knows what humidity does to hair. Curly hair gets curlier and straight hair gets limp. The reason is that hair absorbs moisture from damp air. Straight hair actually gets longer.

Some people are very sensitive to humidity. People who have arthritis are, in a sense, “living hygrometers”. High humidity causes the fluids in their tissues and joints to increase, making movement difficult and painful. That is why many older people say, “It’s going to rain. I can feel it in my bones”. They actually can.

By learning to read weather signs, you can get a few hours advance warning if a storm is headed your way. It may keep you from getting your new shoes ruined in the rain, from having a family picnic spoiled, or your garden beaten down by a storm. If you are backpacking, camping, boating or doing similar outdoor activities it might even save your life.

However here are some more sayings which may be taken into account or purely entertain you or can be just used in class activities, especially if your learners have problems with phonetics:

Calm weather in June,
Sets corn in tune.

Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.

If you plant turnips on the 25th of July,
You will have turnips, wet or dry.

St. Swithin’s day, if thou does rain,
For forty days it will remain;
St. Swithin’s day, if thou be fair,
For forty days’ twill rain na mair.

Dry August and warm
Doth harvest no harm.

Warm September brings the fruit;
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

Ice in November to walk a duck,
The winter will be all rain and muck.

Pale moon doth rain,
Red moon doth blow,
White moon doth neither rain nor snow.

When the dew is on the grass,
Rain will never come to pass.

A red sky at night is a shepherd’s delight,
A red sky in the morning
is a shepherd’s warning.

By Natalya Predtechenskaya