Weather 'folklore' and more

By request, I'm repeating a 'Gems' column that I wrote more than 6 years ago in March of 2004.

As our ancient ancestors began to support themselves by hunting, fishing and raising crops, they realized that they also needed to deliver a working knowledge of both short range and long term weather patterns.

Early Man began to notice various repeating weather phenomena that were often followed by a specific 'type' of weather usually occurring during a particular lunar or solar cycle.

Thus, was the birth of 'weather folklore.' It's been passed down now for literally hundreds of generations dating back to well before Joseph of Biblical Days in 1600 B.C.

Speaking of God's Holy Word, according to the Book of Matthew, Chapter 16, verses 2 and 3, Christ said: "When it is evening, ye say that it will be fair weather tomorrow, for the sky is red; and in the morning ye say, it will be foul weather later today, for the sky is red and lowering."

Shakespeare wrote:

"A red morn, that ever yet betokened,

wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field,

sorrow to shepherds, woe unto the birds,

gust and foul flaws to herdsmen and to birds."

In answering an interesting question received from a Press subscriber;

The 'cock' or rooster that adorns most weather vanes originated in the ninth century A.D. By papal enactment, the 'cock' figure was set up on every church steeple as an emblem of Peter, the Apostle. This was in reference to his thrice denying that he knew Christ "before the cock crowed twice". Thus, a 'weathercock' is a person who is always changing his mind on the weather, often denying his forecasts. But, that can't be me, because I've never been wrong! (Just kidding, folks, I did blow a forecast back in 2005.)

Another question that I received from a middle school student concerned the widely-used expression, "it's raining cats and dogs," which came from Norse Mythology.

The cat was supposed to have a great influence on the weather. The dog was supposed to represent the wind. Put them together, and you have a HARD RAIN..."cats and dogs."

Well, here are a few additional weather proverbs or examples of 'weather folklore':

Halo around the sun or moon,

Signal rain or snow very soon.

Before you plant, consult the moon,

For your crops will fail, if you plant too soon.

When clouds appear like rocks and towers,

The Earth will be refreshed by the blessing of showers

Mackerel Sky, Mackerel Sky.

Soon we'll be wet and no longer dry.

A snowy, cold March means a hot, dry summer.

A frigid November becomes a winter to remember.

Fish bite the least with a wind from the East.

Fish bite the best with a wind from the West.

If the wind is from the north, stay by the fire, don't go forth.

When the wind is from the South, it blows the bait out of the fishes' mouth.

A rainbow is in the eastern sky, so tomorrow will be warm and dry.

But a rainbow in the west that gleams, means rains to fill the rivers and streams.

A warm, wet Christmas brings a cold, snowy Easter. (Kind of like in 2010!)

If the bees stay home, rain will come soon.

If they venture forth, it will be sunny by noon.

Clear moon, frost soon. Hazy sun, get work done.

Red in the morning, sailors take warning.

Red in the twilight is a sailor's delight.

When you hear the donkeys bray, rain will fall later in the day.

If a rooster crows before he goes to bed, he's sure to rise with a rain-soaked head.

When houseflies swarm and hum, there's a sweltering heatwave to come.

When stars begin to huddle, the water on the ground will soon puddle.

A dry May often leads to a soggy June, bringing all things in nature back in tune.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

My long-predicted spring of 2010 weather pattern of "sun and showers" has certainly come true in the past several weeks, in spades.

We've had a wide variety of meteorological fare ranging from frosts and flurries to warm sunshine and afternoon highs in the low to mid 80s.

As the strong cold fronts from the Gulf of Alaska have passed through the region, we've seen wind gusts at times approach 50 mph. Early this past Thursday morning, I picked up dozens of tree branches following Wednesday evening's brief, but strong, storm system.

More showers and thunderstorms, some with small hail and gusty winds, will occur during the next week or so before things warm up again near Memorial Day, May 31 into early June. Then I see more showers and cooler temperatures into mid-June. Remember to cover those sensitive plants during the cool spells. Additional frosts are likely as temperatures in the sheltered areas away from the warming bodies of water may, at times, dip into the chilly low to mid-30s, even upper 20s in the coldest spots.

Longer term, as I mentioned last week, I'm still forecasting a hotter and drier than normal summer of 2010 across the Inland Empire and locally as well in Camelot.

There may be as many as 25-30 toasty "Sholeh Days" this summer at or above 90 degrees, great for outdoor activities including my favorite time of the year, the annual late August North Idaho Fair and Rodeo.

I'm still concerned about the rather high probabilities of disastrous forest and brush fires this season, but I don't foresee another catastrophic 1910, at least not yet.

Have a GREAT WEEK!

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. E-mail sfharris@roadrunner.com