Text 1.3: Weather proverbs

People have been forecasting the weather for centuries. They once looked to plants and animals for hints about what the weather would do. For example, before it rained, some people often observed that ants moved to higher ground, cows lay down, pine cones opened up, frogs croaked more frequently, and sheep’s wool uncurled. Over the years, people began to notice other natural clues to upcoming weather, and several weather "sayings" grew up over the years.

When looking at weather proverbs, keep this in mind: they are usually based on someone’s observations and not on scientific studies. Because climates and weather patterns differ throughout the world, a weather proverb based on observations in one location may not be valid in another location. Some proverbs arose simply from coincidence, not weather patterns, and therefore may seldom hold true. But under certain circumstances, some proverbs do hold up to science.

Here are some that, under the right circumstances, have proven valid.

"Red Sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor takes warning."

When the western sky is especially clear, there is often a red sunset. That's because as the sun sets, its light shines through much more of the lower atmosphere, which contains dust, salt, smoke and pollution. These particles scatter away some of the shorter wavelengths of light (the violets and blues), leaving only the longer wavelengths (the oranges and reds.) If an area of high air pressure is present, the air sinks. This sinking air holds air contaminants near the earth, making the sunset even redder than usual. This would be the “red sky at night.” In the middle latitudes of the northern hemisphere, weather systems most often approach from the west. Since high pressure generally brings fair weather, this type of red sky at sunset would indicate that clear weather is approaching, which would "delight" a sailor. If the sky is red in the eastern morning sky for the same reasons as above, then the high pressure region has most likely already passed from west to the east, and an area of low pressure may follow. Low pressure usually brings clouds, rain or storms, a warning for sailors.

"Clear moon, frost soon."

If the atmosphere is clear, the surface of the earth will cool rapidly as heat is radiated away at night. There is no "blanket" of clouds to keep the heat that the ground absorbed during the day from radiating back up into space. If the temperature is low enough on these clear nights and there's no wind, frost may form.

"A year of snow, a year of plenty."

A continuous covering of snow on farmland and orchards delays the blossoming of fruit trees until the season of killing frosts is over. It also prevents the alternate thawing and freezing which destroys wheat and other winter grains.

"Halo around the sun or moon, rain or snow soon."

The halo around the sun or moon is a layer of cirrus clouds made of ice crystals. These ice crystals act as tiny prisms, forming a white or sometimes colorful halo around the sun or moon. It often indicates an approaching warm front and an associated area of low pressure. Rain or snow will not always follow, but there is a higher probability of it after a halo is seen, and the brighter the circle, the greater the probability.

"Rainbow in the morning gives you fair warning."

In the morning, when the sun is in the east, the shower and its rainbow are in the west. As the weather in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere moves mostly from west to east, the morning rainbow indicates that rain is moving from the west toward the observer.

"When the stars begin to huddle, the earth will soon become a puddle."

When clouds increase, whole areas of stars may be hidden by clouds with groups of stars, still in the clear sky, seem to huddle together. The clouds are increasing, so the chance of rain is increasing too.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why.

1. People have been forecasting the weather looking to plants and animals for hints.

2. If ants move to higher ground and cows lay down, that is the sign of snow.

3. All weather proverbs are usually based on scientific studies.

4. A weather proverb based on observations in one part of the world is always valid in another one.

5. A red sunset is a sign of a rain.

6. If the sky is red in the morning there will be no rain.

7. If the atmosphere is clear, the surface of the earth cools very quickly.

8. If in winter you can see a lot of stars in the sky at night the day will be cold.

9. A continuous covering of snow on farmland destroys wheat and other winter grains.

10. The halo around the sun or moon is a layer of cirrus clouds made of ice crystals.

11. The halo around the sun indicates an approaching warm dry weather.

12. The morning rainbow indicates that rain is moving from the west.

13. Stars seem to “huddle” together because other groups of stars are completely hidden by clouds.

Exercise 2. What types of weather are bad and good for doing these things?

Example: Skiing bad: mild weather which makes the snow melt; good: cold, clear days

1. Planting flowers in a garden

2. Having an evening barbecue

3. Going out in a small sailing boat

4. A day of sightseeing in a big city

5 Camping out in a tent

6 Looking at ships through binoculars

Exercise 3. Form adjectives from the nouns.

Noun	adjective	Noun	adjective
Sun		Wind
Cloud		Ice
Fog		Shower
Heat		Humidity

B. Match the word with its definition. (warm, hot weather)

1. close A. warm and uncomfortable

2. stifling B. hot and damp, makes you sweat a lot

3. humid C. warm at a time when it is normally cold

4. scorching D. very hot, often used in negative contexts

5. boiling E. hot, uncomfortable, you can hardly breathe

6. mild F. very hot, often used in positive contexts

C. Match the word with its definition. (mist and fog)

1. haze A. mixture of fog and pollution

2. mist B. cloudy air near the ground which is difficult to see through, associated with cold weather

3. fog C. light mist, usually caused by heat

4. smog D. light fog, often on the sea, or caused by drizzle

D. Match the word with its definition. (wet weather)

1. damp A. a very large amount of water that covers an area that is usually dry

2. drizzle B. heavy rain that doesn’t stop for a long time

3. downpour C. thunder and heavy rain

4. torrential rain D. high winds and rain together

5. flood E. a long period of dry weather when there is not enough water for plants and animals to live

6. storm F. a lot of rain that falls in a short time

7. thunderstorm G. weather that is a combination of light rain and mist

8. hailstones H. slightly wet, often in an unpleasant way

9. drought I. a small ball of frozen rain

Exercise 4. Say whether these sentences are true or false. Change the false sentences to make them true.

1. When it's foggy you need sunglasses

2. It gets quite chilly in the desert in the evening.

3. Thunder makes a noise.

4. Lightning can kill people.

5. A shower is a type of wind.

6. If it is humid, the air will be very dry.

7. Heavy rain means that it is pouring with rain.

8. It often pours with rain in the desert.