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Meteorology Charles A Giannetta Meteorologist - Professor "Weather Lore Facts & Fancies"

Early man emerged to find he needed to know and anticipate tomorrow's weather, so he began to observe his environment for clues about the future. One obvious way to anticipate the future was to observe the recurrence of weather phenomena. Slowly he noticed the sequences of climate and weather. He could not establish causes and effect relationships, but was able to come to some conclusions about recurring weather. These early observations about weather were gathered into parts of local history and passed down from generation to generation, altered by the wisdom of the times. Much of it is nonsense, products of ignorance, imagination and whimsy. Some weather lore shows some connections to factors now considered scientific. Universal tendency to speculate and philosophize about the weather has kept weather lore from receding into oblivion. Proverbs pertaining to the condition of the atmosphere, the appearance of the sky, the character and movement of the clouds and the direction and forces of the wind are generally speaking, all that are worth testing for any particular locality. Proverbs about the actions of birds, animals and insects are of little value and sayings about the "Moon" and planets are useless. Many weather proverbs concern animals because early man believed they were sensitive to weather changes because they lived closer to nature than man. It is true that changes in atmosphere conditions make many animals act peculiar, but the mistake is to assume these actions foretell future weather conditions. One animal that has been watched for centuries is the squirrel. It has been believed that by observing the activity of the squirrel gathering nuts and preparing for winter might provide a clue to coming season's weather. Scientists have proved there are many factors which motivate this activity of squirrels. The suggestion is that the number of nuts stored away in the all depends on how great the nut harvest is. It is common that birds can fly thousands of miles and steer clear of storms. In fact birds often fly into dangerous storms in following definite routes or migration and storms have destroyed whole flocks.

"The Wooly Bear Caterpillar"

A "Wooly Bear" caterpillar is black at both ends and has one reddish brown stripe in the middle.
Many people believe the wooly bear caterpillar can be used to forecast how the winter will be severe or mild. Wooly Bear caterpillars are in the United States and Canada and can be seen between May and October.
People believe if the wooly bear's brown stripe is thick, the winter weather will be mild. If it is narrow the winter will be severe.
Some experiments have shown the color bands may tell where the caterpillar grew up. Wide black bands the caterpillar was living in wet conditions.Wide brown the caterpillar was living in dry conditions.
The color may also show how near to an adult the caterpillar is. Fall weather signals the wooly caterpillar to seek shelter.
In past year farmers thought the wooly bear can predict weather. Many people still think the wooly bear can predict the weather.

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