By Daniel Steinzeig
Before the days of radar and satellites, how were people supposed to know what the weather would be like on Earth? It’s pretty simple; they would look around and use nature, historical factors, and other “odder” methodologies.
Here are some ways our ancestors predicted weather.
- The color of the sky
Long before modern technology, people had no way of predicting the weather, so they turned to the sky to tell them. According to the 1837 Edition of the Farmers’ Almanac, a greenish sky would tell people to expect more wet weather. A purple haze at sunrise and sunset would indicate good weather.
- Candles
Candles, believe it or not, are often used as good weather indicators. When the flame of the candle snaps or there is a dim light, wind and rain are expected.
- The moon
If the moon looks red, the wind would generally be expected, and if the moon were clear and bright, the weather would be fine.
- Hogs
If a hog shakes the stalks of corn, rainfall could be expected. If they run around squealing, it would indicate wind.
- Flowers
If the gardener’s flowers smelled stronger than usual, some said that rain was on the way.
- Animals
- If birds flew high in the sky, fair weather was forecasted.
- Cattle lying down in the pasture meant a big storm was on the way
- Cats cleaning their ears meant rain was on the way, as did Spiders coming down in their webs and dogs eating grass
Believe it or not, people would use some of these techniques to predict the weather. Take that, Doppler!
