Predicting weather can often times be difficult, even with copious amounts of information meteorologists are looking at day in and day out. But what did people do before radar, satellite and weather maps? It's said that those who live off the land are often times some of the best weather forecasters, mostly because they look for patterns in the weather and observe what happens before and after them. And that's where a lot of the weather folklore you may have heard as a child comes from.
Maybe you can hear now your grandma or grandpa telling you that when the 'corn husks are thick, then a harsh winter is in store'. Or perhaps 'when there is an abundance of acorns on the ground, winter will be cold and snowy'.
How thick or narrow the black and orange bands are on a woolly bear caterpillar is likely the weather folklore you've heard most often. According to this folklore, the thicker the black bands are on the caterpillar (or more narrow the orange band), the more harsh the upcoming winter will be. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, using the woolly bear caterpillar as a weather predictor has been around for quite some time. But it's possible that this particular folklore may tell us more about what the previous winter was like, rather than what the upcoming winter may bring.
Most of the weather folklore is just that, folklore. But I do think there is some truth behind some of those tall tales you heard when you were a kid. What are some of the weather folklore you remember growing up?
Could we have the Barometric Pressure given too? Or have a place we can see it for our area? Those of us with
ReplyDeletearthritis and Fibromyalgia could use the information.
You know people can "feel" a change of weather coming at times. So could you add that reading so some of us can
access it? Thank you.