How to Forecast Weather Without Gadgets

[Guest ajaX]

WATCH THE CLOUDS

• Cloud cover on a winter night - expect warmer weather because clouds prevent heat radiation that would lower the temperature on a clear night
  
• Cumulus towers - Possibility of showers later in the day
  
• Clouds going in a different directions - bad weather coming, possibly hail
  
• Cumulonimbus clouds early in the day and developing throughout the day - greater chances of severe weather
  
• Mammatus clouds - This is formed by sinking air and means that a thunderstorm is dissipating
  
• Cirrus clouds high in the sky like long streamers - bad weather within the next 36 hours
  
• Altocummulus clouds like mackerel scales - bad weather within the next 36 hours. The old sailors saying for this is "Mares tails and mackerel scales, tall ships carry short sails." Another is "Mackerel skies and mares tails, sailors furl their sails." Mackerel skies and mares tails formations sometimes appear in the same sky. When that happens, rain is sure to follow the next day
  

HUMIDITY

• Many people can feel humidity, especially in their hair (it curls up and gets frizzy)
  
• You can also look at the leaves of maple or oak trees. These leaves tend to curl up in high humidity, which tends to precede a heavy rain
  
• Pine cone scales remain closed in high humidity, but open in dry air
  
• Under humid conditions, wood swells (look out for those sticky doors) and salt clumps.
  

LOOK FOR A RAINBOW IN THE WEST

• Most major storm fronts travel from west to east, and a rainbow to the west usually means rain is on the way
  
• On the other hand, a rainbow to the east around sunset means that rain is on its way out and you can look forward to sunny days
  
• Remember: Rainbow in the morning, need for a warning
  
• If you see a red sky during sunset while looking west, there is a high pressure system with dry air that is stirring dust particles, causing the sky to look red. Since prevailing front movements and jet streams weather usually move from west to east, the dry air is heading towards you.
  
• A red sky in the morning to the east means that dry air has already moved past you, and what follows behind it is a low pressure system that carries moisture.
  

 

AIR

• Take a deep breath, close your eyes and smell the air
  
• Plants release their waste in a low pressure atmosphere, generating a smell like compost and indicating an impending rain
  
• Swamps will release gases before a storm because of the low pressure, which leads to unpleasant smells
  
• A proverb says "Flowers smell best just before a raiin." Scents are stronger in moist air, associated with rainy weather.
  

 

LOOK AT THE MOON AT NIGHT

• If it's reddish or pale, dust is in the air. But if the moon is bright and sharply focused, it's probably because low pressure has cleared the dust, and low pressure means rain.
  
• Also, a ring around the moon (caused by light shining through cirrostratus clouds associated with warm fronts and moisture) can indicate that rain will probably fall within the next three days. Remember: Circle around the moon, rain or snow soon.
  

 

WIND

• Detect which direction the wind is blowing
  
• Easterly winds can indicate an approaching storm, westerly winds work the opposite.
  
• Strong winds indicate high pressure differences, which can be a sign of advancing fronts
  
• Deciduous trees show the undersides of their leaves during unusual winds, supposedly because they grow in a way that keeps them right side up during typical prevailing winds