The other day, Rosetta was telling me about the weather proverb she heard at bible study, and how there was a similar saying in the bible. That gave me the idea to do a post with lots of proverbs to go with our weather unit. First, the one Rosetta mentioned:
The following explanation is from the Weather Dude:
People have been forecasting the weather for centuries. They once looked to plants and animals for hints about what the weather would do. For example, before it rained, some people often observed that ants moved to higher ground, cows lay down, pine cones opened up, frogs croaked more frequently, and sheeps' wool uncurled. Over the years, people began to notice other natural clues to upcoming weather, and several weather "sayings" grew up over the years.
When looking at weather proverbs, keep this in mind: They are usually based on someone’s observations and not on scientific studies. Because climates and weather patterns differ throughout the world, a weather proverb based on observations in one location may not be valid in another location. Some proverbs arose simply from coincidence, not weather patterns, and therefore may seldom hold true. But under certain circumstances, some proverbs do hold up to science. Here are some that, under the right circumstances, have proven valid.
"Red Sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning."
The explanation - Why the Red Sky:
When the western sky is especially clear, there is often a red sunset. That's because as the sun sets, its light shines through much more of the lower atmosphere, which contains dust, salt, smoke and pollution. These particles scatter away some of the shorter wavelengths of light (the violets and blues), leaving only the longer wavelengths (the oranges and reds.) If an area of high air pressure is present, the air sinks. This sinking air holds air contaminants near the earth, making the sunset even redder than usual. This would be the “red sky at night.” In the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, weather systems most often approach from the west. Since high pressure generally brings fair weather, this type of red sky at sunset would indicate that clear weather is approaching, which would "delight" a sailor. If the sky is red in the eastern morning sky for the same reasons as above, then the high pressure region has most likely already passed from west to the east, and an area of low pressure may follow. Low pressure usually brings clouds, rain or storms, a warning for sailors.
Mackerel Sky
And More Sailor Warnings
Rainbow
* * * * *
Most of the proverbs above were snipped from this book: Title: Weather proverbs Issue 9 of Signal services notes,
United States Army
Compiled by: Henry Harrison Chase Dunwoody
Publisher Govt. Print. Off., 1883
(google link)
