#weather folklore

[carolinawrenn]

Most years, we get "dogwood winter," a cold snap in early to mid-April, right around the time the dogwoods bloom. Folks have been noting it since at least the 1790s, and farmers know not to plant certain crops until after dogwood winter.

[caedmonofwhitby]

English Weather Folklore

Remember on St Vincent’s Day, if the sun his beams display,

’tis a token bright and clear, of prosperous weather all the year.

A saying for the feast day of St Vincent of Saragossa Day (January 22), the patron saint of vintners and vinegar makers.

[cloudselkie]

Long-term Weather Forecasts In Folklore

One area of forecasting that has very little dependence on the barometer is the long-range forecast, and of that we must speak. Long-range forecasts are most often achieved by observing the conditions at the time of seasonal change, as on the twenty-first of March, June, September and December. Two of these dates are close to the time of the vernal equinoxes, and the other two are approximately the solstices.

In New England, the sailor notes intently the direction of the wind on these days, for whatever way the wind blows "when the sun crosses the line, that wind will rule the weather" either for forty days or the season. Since he knows easterlies bring rain and fog and westerlies clear weather, he invariably prays for a westerly breeze on those days.

Long-range forecasts are also predicated on the arrival of certain saints' days, on the behavior of the moon, and quite frequently on the actions of flora and fauna. We have, for example, Groundhog Day, and hard winters are often predicted by the size of muskrat houses, the thickness of corn husks, the activity of squirrels, and the bands on a caterpillar. The migration of birds--especially waterfowl--early or late is also used for a prediction of coming events, as an early winter or late spring. There is a saying in New England that "a green Christmas means a fat cemetery," and in the West Indies, the hurricane season is gauged by the following rhyme:

June too soon,

July stand by,

August look out,

September remember,

October all over.

A further word must be said about these long-range forecasts. They tend to have an accuracy that beats the law of averages and makes one wonder about them until one examines them more carefully. It is normal for weather to have a general seasonal consistency. Along the Atlantic seaboard we expect that winds in the summer will blow from the southwest. Usually, the weather develops slightly ahead of seasonal change, and so when the sailor notes the wind was southwest "when the sun crossed the line" in June, and predicts that it will continue from that quarter for most of the summer, he really is using a loaded dice. One also notes that the same thing holds true for saints' days, a considerable number of which fall on ancient pagan holidays. Three such days are Martinmas (November 11), Candlemas Day (February 3), and St. Swithin's Day (July 15). By midsummer and midwinter the weather pattern has been established fairly clearly and we should not be surprised that the adages for Candlemas Day --

Just so far as the sun shines in,

Just so far will the snow blow in.

If Candlemas be fair and clear

There'll be two winters in the year.

--prove correct rather frequently. Neither are we surprised at the efficacy of the rhymes for St. Swithin:

All the tears St. Swithin can cry

St. Bartelmy's mantle wipes them dry.

St. Swithin's Day, if it dost rain

For forty days, it will remain.

St. Swithin's Day if it be fair,

For forty days 'twill rain nae mair. 

When we realize that this last is a Scottish adage, where it rains so constantly that they have a sardonic proverb,

The day ye see nae gull,

There'll be nae rain on Mull

we can understand that the first part of the quatrain above is very likely correct. 

-- From Folklore and the Sea, by Horace Beck

Beck, H. (1985). Weather Lore. In Folklore and the sea (pp. 88-90). Mystic, CT: Mystic Seaport Museum.

[stumpyshocky]

Gonna try to put some of the weather folklore ive read about from the Texas folklore book into action and see if I cant reverse engineer some type of spell or ritual. If I do ill post progress/update.

[aerislunam]

So I learned a bit of weather folklore that says if you see these wooly bears that are all black, the winter will be harsh.

Interesting, the larger all black ones are a different species than the ones with the bands.

They can also apparently survive through the winter due to being able to create their own antifreeze.

GIF is my own: Really almost stepped on the little guy! 👁

Below is not my own photo, but it shows how freaking beautiful these moths are in their final forms :)

Weather Folklore: Wooly Bears And Other Winter Insights

Long before computer models, satellites, and Doppler Radar people have been trying to predict the weather. There are many signs in our atmos

[kissing-the-abyss]

If you’re into water magic of any kind and especially weather and storm magic, I highly recommend this little book. Easy to read, good reference and one of my faves.

[nixie-dantes-belvedere]

It's always shocking to learn that this or that saint was born in today's Hungary. Like, you're telling me Martin, THAT Martin that is a big guy in the Slovak weather folklore, the guy on the white horse which is supposed to symbolise the first snow of the season in the aforementioned weather folklore, was Hungarian???? Groundbreaking. Slota was wrong, not all Hungarian ponies are ugly.

[now-winter-comes-slowly]

Weather Folklore: What Leaves, Squirrels, Apples and Flowers Predict about Winter

Weather folklore warning of a harsh winter are based on La Nina.