Old Wives’ Tale To Predict The Weather

Back in the day before meteorologists, weather apps or other modern technology, people used observations and experience to predict the weather. Today, we refer to these as old wives’ tales but surprisingly some are reliable and can be backed by scientific evidence.

Read on to learn of some of the observations your ancestors used to predict the weather.

The number of heavy fogs in August predicts the number of snowfalls in the coming winter.

The winter is going to be cold when you see birds, skunks and squirrels growing unusually plump.

If there is thunder or lightning in winter, snow will fall within a week.

The segments on a woolly bear caterpillar are black and brown, if the black stripes appear wide that means the winter will be rough. If the middle brown segments look broader, you can expect a mild winter.

If oak trees have an abundance of acorns in the fall, the winter is going to be extra harsh.

A pine tree will produce more pinecones before a severe winter to ensure some of the seeds will survive.

An ant builds its hill high when a bad winter is in store.

Want to know the temperature? Count the number of chirps of a cricket for 15 seconds then add 37 (some say 40) and that will give you a rough idea of the current temperature.

When the leaves of a tree curl up or flip their undersides up, rain is on the way.

In the warmer months, cows lying on the ground means that rain is on the way. In the winter it means that it is going to snow that day or the next.

A bad winter is coming if woodpeckers are sharing a tree.

The date of the month of the first snowfall in which a cat paw prints can be seen predicts the number of snowstorms for the season.

If the corn shucks are very tight, then it is going to be a bad winter.

The number of foggy mornings in August indicates the number of snows that winter.

If the smoke from a fire creeps along the ground instead of rising, the winter is going to be harsh.

If there is a lot of bees in the summer, it is going to be a year of big snows.

Each year on Groundhog Day, February 2, if the groundhog sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of bad weather; if he does not see his shadow then spring is on its way.

More signs of a bad winter: 1) the migratory birds are hanging around 2) your dog’s coat is thicker than normal 3) the squirrels are scurrying around gathering nuts in September 4) the birds eat up the berries early and huddle on the ground 5) squirrels’ tails are bushier and they build their nests low in the trees 6) Wasps building their nests high.

After reading this, I bet you will appreciate our modern weather predicting technology even more.