Weatherlore

[FeralSheryl]

After posting something on Mammatus Clouds the other day, it quickly became apparant to me how little I know about Weatherlore.

Beyond the very obvious signs of heavy grey clouds rolling in to indicate a strong possibility of rain, Anvil clouds forming to warn of a big thunderstorm or that pinkish tinge you get in the sky just before it snows, I find my self alarmingly ignorant of the natural signs of weather approaching changes.

Does anyone here have any knowledge they'd like to share on the subject or any useful resources they can point out?

[arctic hobo]

There's a rather wonderful book published by the RYA called quite simply "The RYA Weather Handbook". It in fact used to be better than it is now, but it's still an excellent book, covering almost all aspects of weather in a very simple to understand way. The only things it leaves out are things like wind shear over mountains and mountain thermals - but to be honest, if you're not a pilot then you can live without it. Wind shear is anyway really rather complicated, and if hundreds of extremely powerful computers get it very wrong a lot of the time I'm content with knowing but little
As a sailor I'm quite confident with the old weatherlore, so if anyone's at a meet and is interested...

[jdlenton]

While lookking for some other stuff i found this article makes for interesting reading

[swamp donkey]

Just remember there is no such thing as bad weather only different sorts of good weather

and the only weather you need to know is whether or not its going to rain and whether its time to go home

[match]

I've got a small paperback book entitled 'Folklore Guide tot he Weather' which contains a lot of common folklore expressions (cows lying down = rain etc) that have been tested out in some way.

Quite a good read, but a 1950's publication, so might be difficult to find nowadays...

[mark a.]

My old geography teacher back in GCSE days was great on the weather, but unfortunately I can't remember much of it.

The one thing I do remember is that a blanket of "cotton wool" clouds is often a precursor to rain.

[mark a.]

Look what I just found: Wikipedia Weather Lore

Fascinating reading. Looks like I should have said "mackerel skies" as opposed to my somewhat less technical "cotton wool"

[TwoFourAlpha]

The first one I was ever taught by my father was that when the leaves show their undersides, rain is a-comin'. Seems to be quite true. Follows into the second one (Actually, I guess it's just the same one read differently )

There is a unique kind of cold, wet wind that you get coming away from an approaching storm. Difficult to describe, but once you spot it, you'll never miss it again.

I can't figure why it comes away from the storm. I would have guessed that the stormcloud would have pulled the air into itself as it feeds, but then I guess that's why I'm not a meteorologist. Maybe the water falling is cooling the air in front of the storm, causing it to pour down. I dunno. It's there though.

Oh, and my shoulder always aches before the weather turns cold. Not very helpful, that one, I know.

[Tantalus]

if the sky and clouds turn yellow you are in for a serious mini storm, get yourself somewhere safe and quick

if you see the sky and clouds go a very pale shade of blue (almost looks like everything is under a swimming pool cold icy weather is on the way

Tant

[match]

In Edinburgh, I can always tell rain about 10 to 30 minutes in advance.

The cloud layer seems to drop and get 'closer', the air feels damp and colder, also the wind speed picks up a bit. All classic signs of a low front rushing in under a warm front, and pushing it up - the warm air (which contains more water vapour) rises and cools, making it less able to hold water, which then falls out as rain.

Always impresses people when you stop, sniff the air, look up and say 'right, lets get inside in the next 10 minutes...'

[mark a.]

Always impresses people when you stop, sniff the air, look up and say 'right, lets get inside in the next 10 minutes...'

LOL!

I like the way that people can be quite good at predicting short-term weather changes, without knowing why. There's just something about the air and skies that just makes you know that it's going to rain, but what that something is you can't really explain.

[FeralSheryl]

Great posts guys. I'm taking notes

[Jazzman]

By the way, if anyone has anymore general questions (on ANYTHING, not just bushcraft)... try the afore mentioned Wikipedia.

It is surprisingly comprehensive for a free encyclopedia.

www.wikipedia.org

[Rhapsody]

Heh, I've never really looked into it as a subject, but one thing I did notice while on the banks of Loch Lomond was that the only times that there were no midgies around were when it was soon about to rain. You could say "When the midgies play, it'll be a dry day"

[R-Bowskill]

There is a good book of East Anglian weather Lore called 'Listen to the Locals' that's packed with advice from the old farmworkers and North sea fishermen whose living and lives depended on knowing what the weather was going to do.

Here's an observation I've made in one of the places I've visited over 20 years:
In the Lowther hills if the sky goes a sort of lilac colour it'll rain within half an hour.

[ilovemybed]

BAck home they used to say:

"If you can see the top of Schiehallion, it's about to rain.
If you can't see the top of Schiehallion, it's raining."

[Adi]

With out being negative here I can’t believe that bushcrafters can not predict the coming hour’s weather in the area they are.

Can’t distinguish different smell or the change in colour in mosses, lichens and other plants, as the air becomes moist. Understand how insect, birds and animals act just before heavy rain. Recognise how our body’s can predict weather with aches and pains in joints and head aches, by subtle changes in how well we hear and smell, and for the lady’s how your hair reacts.

All these things start to give use a clue, then you feel which way the wind is blowing from and you look into the sky and see what clouds are forming (incidentally how many of you don’t know which way north is when you are in your local area).

For millennia humans have been using the above to make mental judgments on what the weather will do over the coming hours. Most weather lore was made by local people that observed local conditions in there local area, some of these lore’s were only relevant in that village/area; it may not be the same for another village a couple of miles away. Where as other lore’s are relevant anywhere you go in the UK or even further a field.

It is easy to teach yourself how to forecast the weather during the day by just looking at the sky and clouds and see what is happening, recognize what cloud is producing rain and what clouds there were before and after the rain the next time you see that sort of cloud you can expect rain, you don’t need to know what the clouds are called just the general shape and size. Do this every day for a month, listen to a weather forecast for you area will help you to know what weather to expect. Do this for one month, even if you do it every time you walk to your car it takes seconds. With in a month you will start to recognise the weather for your area and will start being able to predict what will happen over the next couple of hours.

[Simca]

(Without being negative, you just added nothing useful to this thread. "Bushcrafters" are sometimes just beginners, who want to learn, hence this topic.)

One old trick is if you see a lightning, start to count (the seconds), until you hear the boom. The distance of the storm is counted seconds/3 kilometer, this way you can find out if its coming closer and closer to you, or away from you.
When rain is coming, the ants running like crazy.
In winter, when it's under 0˚C for a long time, a sudden 6-8 hours of warming predicts snow.