h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Before we had the sophisticated methods of weather forecasting, those who worked on the land or at sea would have other methods of predicating the weather by observing changes in nature and in the sky. There are still some people who still use these methods.

Here are some weather proverbs:

Red sky at night shepherd's delight, red sky in the morning sailors warning.

The North wind blow and we shall have snow.

When summer birds take their flight the season goes with them.

Ring around the moon, snow soon.

If there be a rainbow in the eve it will rain and leave.

Rain before seven, fine after eleven. Fine before seven, rain after eleven.

We have a few sayings like these in German, which might interest you:

1. "Wenn Es regnet im Mai ist der Winter vorbei"
2. "Kräht der Hahn auf dem Mist, ändert sich das Wetter - oder Es bleibt wie es ist"

You will understand why nobody really believes them when you read these translations:

1. "When it rains in May, winter is over"
2. "If the cock crows on the manure heap, the weather changes - or it stays the way it is"

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

Thanks Pierce and Paul for the weather proverbs.
When cattle lie down in the pasture, it indicates early rain. Except that most of the time half the cattle are lying down and the other half are standing up.

That means it'll rain on half the field.

We had one which I have heard, with local adaptations, all round the world. If it is clear enough to see the Island in the distance, it means it will rain. If you can't see the Island, it means it is raining.

There is an island off the coast of Girvan in South East Ayrshire, called Ailsa Craig, it is a bird sanctuary and granite for curling stones used to be mined from there. There was once a manned lighthouse but it is automated now.

"When Ailsa Craig has on its coat,
The Weather will be very hot.
When Ailsa Craig has on its hat,
You can be sure it will be wet.
When Ailsa Craig has on its tie,
That's a sign its going to be dry"

This refers to the mist covering the island.

[Amy P]

This not weather lore but an observation of mine. I noticed in the weeks preceding the heavy snow of 2010, the indoor temperature dropped from 13C down to 9C overnight and stayed like that for a whole week. The following weeks the temperature plunged even further.