Photo by Al Batt
Everywhere I go, something is there waiting for me.
It’s called the weather.
On this August day, a heaviness hung in the air, brought on by heat and humidity.
It was stifling. Archie Bunker’s famous catchphrase “Stifle yourself” was directed at his sweet wife Edith in the classic TV show “All in the Family.”
This August day would have stifled Edith without need of Archie to say anything.
We need the weather. It bolsters our interactions with other humans by giving us something to talk about when we have nothing to say.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the weather has it licked.
You don’t have to turn over stones to find the weather. It’s all around – even inside us. My grandmother said she could feel the change of weather in her bones.
Birds flock to the feeders like people flock to a grocery store before adverse weather hits.
Weather folklore abounds – some rooted in scientific reasoning, some adages are myths, and others are total malarkey.
Jupiter was the supreme god of the ancient Romans, a god of the sky and weather, and a champion of world order and the Roman Empire. He was a busy guy.
If you don’t like the weather, don’t blame a meteorologist. Blame Jupiter.
I pay attention to weather folklore. It gives weight to small talk.
For every fog in August, there will be a snowfall the following winter.
If the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and long.
Hot July, cold August.
If a cold August follows a hot July, it foretells a winter hard and dry.
As high as the weeds grow in August, so will the bank of snow.
If we have the month of August, we will have a winter. I made this one up. But it’s true.
Modern meteorological studies show little or no direct predictive relationship between these August markers and specific winter outcomes. The credibility of the adage I created would astound any study astute enough to tackle it.
Fair on September 1st, fair for the month.
The first snowfall comes six weeks after the last September thunderstorm.
Late September thunder hints at snowy weather late in November.
September warm, winter warm.
Warm October, cold February.
Much rain in October, much wind in December.
As the weather in October, so it will be in March.
If October brings much frost and wind, then January and February will be mild.
Gnats in October are a sign of long, fair weather.
Ice in October that will bear up a duck foretells a winter as wet as muck.
The longer the woolly bear caterpillar’s black bands, the longer and more severe the winter will be. The wider the middle brown band, the milder the upcoming winter. If the dark head end of the caterpillar is longer than the dark tail end, the beginning of winter will be the most severe. If the black tail end is longest, the end of winter will be the worst. If the woolly bear is crawling in a southerly direction, it’s trying to escape the frigid winter conditions on the way. If the woolly bear is crawling on a northward path, it indicates a mild winter.
We like to know when it’s going to rain. Many things depend upon rain – gardens, crops, lakes, rivers and drinking water. Other things depend upon no rain – sporting events, picnics, outdoor weddings, musical festivals, fairs, parades and open-air markets.
If it is raining and the sun is shining, it will rain the same time tomorrow.
Rain before 7 – clear before 11. Rain after 7 – rain all day.
When robins call loudly and steadily, it will rain soon.
When dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.
You don’t want to become like your Uncle Leonard, demanding a cloud provide rain, although his hollering hurt nothing other than the family’s sensibilities. Even all of Uncle Leonard’s hot air won’t affect the weather. A drought wouldn’t right itself even if Uncle Leonard had used pompoms as encouragement. The weather goes where it will. The best thing to do is to let weather do as it wants.
There are two kinds of weather – history and mystery.
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