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Weather Proverbs

These weather proverbs have been around for a long time. Please test them out in your area and let us know if they prove true for you. To comment on one of the proverbs, click on the individual proverb and fill in the comment form at the bottom of the page.

  • If high-flying cirrus clouds are few in the sky and resemble wisps in a mare's tail in the wind, this is a sign of fair weather. When the sky becomes heavy with cirrus, or mackerel, clouds - cirrocumulus that resemble wave-rippled sand on a beach – you can expect a storm. There is an exception to the mare's tail proverb, however. If cirrus clouds form as mares' tails with the hairs pointing upward or downward, the probability is for rain, even though the clouds may be scattered.

  • There is a simple explanation for this old and quite reliable proverb. A red sunset results from viewing the sun through dusty particles in the air, the nuclei necessary for the formation of rain. This air probably would reach an observer the following day. Since weather tends to flow west to east in most places, if tomorrow’s weather appears to the west as a line of wetness, the sun shining through the mass appears as a yellow or grayish orb. On the other hand, if the weather lying to the west is dry, the sun will show at its reddest, signaling good weather to delight the sailor.

    Red sky in the morning is caused by the rising, eastern sun lighting up the advance guard of high cirrus and cirrostratus, which will be followed later on by the lowering, frontal clouds

  • Storm centers usually move from the west. Thus, a morning rainbow would have to be viewed from its position, already in the west with the sun shining on it from the east. The sailor would take warning expecting rain.

    An evening rainbow, however, viewed to the east, would tell you that the storm has already passed.

  • If a rainbow is behind or with the direction of the prevailing wind, then you can expect its curtain of moisture to reach you. But is the rainbow appears to the lee of the wind, then you know the rain has already passed and the grey line of showers is receding, moving away from you.

  • A wind that changes its direction so that it moves from east to west, as the sun moves, almost always results in clear skies. But a wind that changes agains the sun’s movement, blowing first from the west, then the east, brings rain.

  • When you can clearly see the sharp horns or ends of a crescent moon with your naked eye, it means there are high-speed winds aloft which are sweeping away cloud forms. Inasmuch as these high winds always descend to earth, you can predict a windy day following.

  • Halos are excellent atmospheric signs of rain. Halos around the moon after a pale sun confirm the advent of rain, for you are viewing the moon through the ice crystals of high cirriform clouds. When the whole sky is covered with these cloud forms, a warm front is approaching, brining a long, soft rain.

  • As cirrus and cirrostratus fronts push across the sky in the region of the moon or sun, the halo first appears and and subsequently becomes brightest in that part of the arc from which a low pressure system is approaching. Later the halo becomes complete and the light is uniform throughout. As the storm advances, altostratus clouds arrive and obliterate the original, and for a time, the brightest part of the halo – that is, the side nearest the oncoming storm. Sun halos will be followed by rain about 75% of the time. Halos around the moon have a rain forecasting accuracy of about 65%.

  • As cirrus and cirrostratus fronts push across the sky in the region of the moon or sun, the halo first appears and and subsequently becomes brightest in that part of the arc from which a low pressure system is approaching. Later the halo becomes complete and the light is uniform throughout. As the storm advances, altostratus clouds arrive and obliterate the original, and for a time, the brightest part of the halo – that is, the side nearest the oncoming storm. Sun halos will be followed by rain about 75% of the time. Halos around the moon have a rain forecasting accuracy of about 65%.

  • The more penetrating sound of a bell ringing or voices that carry longer distances are signs of the acoustical clarity when bad weather lowers the cloud ceiling toward earth. The tonal quality of sound is improved because the cloud layer bounces the sounds back, the way the walls of a canyon echo a cry. When the cloud barrier lifts, the same sounds dissipate in space.