Different Ways to Predict Rain

Hey guys! Do you ever wish you could tell if it was going to rain? I know we all have cell phones that can tell us the weather, but what if you don’t have your phone on you? Yeah, you’re right. It’s more likely that it’s just dead. But regardless, there are a lot of interesting ways that you can use to predict the rain before it comes. Now, there are going to be a lot of things on here that’ll make you say “jeez, what a hick’, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve used a few of these tricks before and they worked! So just keep an open mind, and let’s talk about the rain!

So the other day I was out at a festival with some friends, just enjoying a Sunday off of school work. Well, we had been there for about two hours, and had walked down all the streets available to us when I noticed a change in the air. It’s one of those things that are hard to explain, but I’ll do my best. The air around us seemed to get heavier and the smell of the earth overwhelmed my senses. I immediately thought It’s going to rain. When I told my friends this, they thought I was crazy. After all, the weather forecast had said nothing about rain. But a few minutes later, a few drops of water fell from the sky. A few minutes after that, the sky opened up and drenched us. Maybe next time they’ll listen, right? 

Inspired by that Sunday, I decided to share some, albeit, unconventional ways of telling when it’ll rain. Think back to when you were younger, spending time with your grandparents. They always seemed to know when it was going to rain, despite what the weather man told them. I want to channel some of that wisdom in this post, and give you some old-timey methods to predict the rain. 

First up, I’m gonna talk about the smell of coming rain. You already read my story above, but I want to reiterate the tell-tale signs of the pitter-patter of raindrops. If the smell of the earth (we’re talking dirt, compost, and the likes) is prominent then it’s very likely you’ll see some rain. I’m not talking about that smell of fresh cut grass; I’m talking about the smell of the ground. And if you’re a flower fan, I think you’ll like this one. If the fragrance of the planted flowers around you seem stronger than usual, it’s pretty likely you’re about to get some rain. 

I know this sounds crazy and a little backwoods-redneck-like, but think back to a time you were outside in the quad or walking along the sidewalk before a storm. Do you remember the strong smell of flowers and the damp ground? Granted, it may not be the sort of thing you pay attention to, but I want to challenge you to start paying attention to the things around you. They can be quite telling of things to come. 

City slickers and country bumpkins alike can all tell the weather by looking into the sky. My grandma would repeat these “old sailor sayings” to me when I’d ask her if she thought the weather would be nice. “ Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.” and  “Mares tails and mackerel scales, tall ships carry short sails.” I’m going to be honest here, I thought it was the coolest thing ever at the time, I mean my grandma could predict the weather and rhyme about it! Looking back now, it’s not as amazing as it was to my younger self, but I’m still fascinated by the world’s way of warning people of the weather. And it turns out, there’s actually some science behind these!

A red sky in the morning means there is already a lot of moisture in the clouds, and since most storms move from west to east, it’s likely that there will be bad weather. When the sky is red at night (like at sunset), it means the bad weather has passed. How cool is it that science backs up our grandparents’ folksy predictions? The second saying refers to the clouds in the sky. The clouds that look like fish scales can mean that bad weather is on its way within a day or so. 

Speaking of clouds, you remember back in elementary school when we had to learn all those types of clouds. Well, buckle up those nostalgia boots because I’m taking you back to school. Turns out those science teachers weren’t just being a pain in our butts, they wanted us to learn some cool life skills. If you haven’t guessed it yet, the clouds can be a great way to predict rain! Remember those cumulonimbus clouds? Those are the “thunderstorm” clouds. I’m not going to pretend to be a cloud expert, so I’ll simply leave it at this: Usually the higher the clouds, the fairer the weather. If clouds are of interest to you though, you should check out my buddy Sam’s post on clouds!

I have always believed that animals are more attuned to mother nature’s antics than we are, and now is no exception. We have all read those stories about animals knowing that a hurricane was coming, right? How all of the sudden the stray cats around your apartment seem to disappear and your dog seems to be going a little crazy. Well, my advice is that you should listen to them because they understand what’s coming. 

I can’t tell you how many times the cows predicted a storm before we could back on the farm. If you saw them huddling up in a corner of the pasture or trying to squeeze under the small shelter, you can bet your bottom dollar it’s gonna rain. I remember this one time we noticed the cows all laying in the field in a group, so we tuned into the local weather station to see that they were calling for an epic thunderstorm. I’m talking “batten down the hatches” kind of storm. So we went out to move the cows into the barn where they’d be not only safer, but more comfortable. And then it started pouring. It was as if the sky opened up and dumped an ocean on us. It’s safe to say, we always paid attention to the cows after that. 

Something that isn’t exactly about rain, but it involves the weather and has a bit of folksy feel to it (it totally counts). And it has everything to do with those loud little buggers you hear at night! That’s right, we’re talking about the chirp chirp chirping of crickets. I can’t be the only one out there whose grandparents told them that they could state the temperature outside by listening to the crickets, right? My grandma claimed that if you counted the number of chirps in 14 seconds then add 40 to it, you’d get the temperature outside (this is in fahrenheit). After a bit of help from Google, I figured out that it works with Celcius as well. To get the temperature in Celsius, just count the number of chirps in 25 seconds, divide by 3 and add 4…. So, obviously fahrenheit is a lot easier to do! Now, I can’t, in good conscious, guarantee that this is a full proof method. I mean, maybe the cricket you’re listening to is prone to being cold! We all know those people who wear sweaters in the summer, so maybe you’ve chosen a sweater wearing cricket for your observation. For real though, it’ll probably be a little off from what your phone or thermometer (does anyone actually use these anymore?) says.

Now for a few general pieces of information that I thought was interesting. Some of these I already knew, but some of them I found while googling some stuff. I think some can be more practical and reliable than others, but I think it’s still cool to tell you about! Here are a few sayings I found. 

• If it rains before seven, it will clear before eleven. (I don’t know about this one guys, it’s not as if I counted the number of hours it rained, but I’m certain there have been rain storms that lasted well beyond eleven even if they started before seven)
• If three nights dewless there be, ‘twill rain, you’re sure to see. (Okay I can’t be the only one that was confused by the word ‘twill. It means “it will”. You’re welcome!)
• With dew before midnight, the next day sure will be bright. (I’ve got nothin for this one)

Have you ever been to a bonfire and watched the smoke make its way up to the sky? Turns out it’ll tell you if it’s going to rain too. If the smoke goes straight up, then the weather is fine, but if it’s all wispy and curly, then it means there’s rain on the way! (I guess this is because of the low pressure system that is present when it’s going to rain —science is crazy, dude). 

Now come the behaviors of animals and bugs. If you pay attention, they do certain things when it’s going to rain or bad weather is coming. I already mentioned the cows, so we’ll stick with other ones, alright? First up, we have some flying friends of ours. Usually if you see birds having a good ole’ time way up in the sky, decent weather is sure to stick around. If you think about it, it makes sense. They wouldn’t be up there if it was gonna get ucky out. Plus, we already learned that the lower clouds, the crappier the weather, so the fact that you can even see those birds, means there aren’t low clouds out and about. Another flying friend of ours, the bat, has some telling tendencies as well. If you see those guys flying around in the evening, then it’s likely it won’t rain that night (again, kind of common sense, right?). 

If you’re brave enough to get close enough to watch a spider do it’s thang, you’d notice that they come down from their webs when it’s going to rain. I mean, I would too, honestly. Oh, and our little ant buddies tend to build up the walls of their ant hills before rains.  I mean you would want water getting into your home either. 

The next two I’m not really sold on. It’s said that cats clean their ears before a rain and that dogs eat grass when rain is on its way. But if we’re being honest here, they both do those things all the damn time, so I don’t see the connection. 

Alright this is where I might lose some of you, but if you’ve read this far then you have to be somewhat entertained or interested, right? I’ve saved this one for last because I know there are a lot of doubters out there! Anyway, when I was younger my grandma would complain that her knees ached and would insist it was because the weather was about to change (this could mean rain or it was going to get colder). I thought she was just pulling my leg, but guys, I kid you not, it happens. Sometimes my knees ache for absolutely no reason and then it’ll start raining or the temperature does a sudden nose dive. If you’re still all like “Psh, yeah right,”let’s just all remember that your knees aching is a lot less ridiculous than karen Smith’s way of telling whether or not it’s raining. I mean, come on. Her boobs? Really?

Well that seems to be the extent of my experience predicting the rain, but if you have a cool way to tell if it’s going to rain that I didn’t mention here, feel free to share it in the comments! I’d definitely love to hear it!

I’ve got to runoff!
~~Cheyenne~~