Folklore Weather Forecasting

A companion post to The Barometer. Here is Folk Lore Weather Forecasting!

This really struck me when we were reading Stranded at Plimoth Plantation 1626 by Gary Bowen.

Feb 24, 1626 - p.23
"The cattle ate greedily all day, so bad weather is sure to come."

May 16, 1627 - p.43
"Since our animals were licking their hooves all day, we were not surprised when high winds brought a sudden storm that collapsed the Allertons' chicken house."

May 29, 1627 - p.52
"The sailors are concerned about the south wind being bad to breathe. Johnathan says that in London the air is so fouled by the river Thames that people do not have windows on the south side of their homes. Here we do not have windows facing south either, which must be an unnecessary custom that has continued."

Jul 3, 1627 - p.67
"It will probably rain soon as the frogs are croaking a lot tonight and soot has been falling down the chimney."

It is so interesting that people of the time concluded that ALL south winds are bad air because that was the situation in London. (For more on this, I recommend Poop Happened! A History of the World from the Bottom Up by Sarah Albee.)

I'd love to continue to write down references that I find. Another that stands out in recent memory is from Edwardian Farm when Alex Langlands said

Mackerel sky
Mackerel sky
Never long wet
Never long dry

Of course, that's also the series where they make a weathervane. And is that the one where Ruth talks about her grandmother hanging out a strip of seaweed to test the humidity of the air? I'll have to rewatch it now! The things that stand out to me are not always the things that stand out to other people and you can't Google "ruth goodman edwardian farm seaweed slimy" and get a result that says, yes, Renee, this is the episode that would go with your lesson plan for Hygrometer. 😊

Edwardian Farm episode 12

weathervane - throughout the episode (to see the direction of the wind in order to predict dry weather for harvesting the oat crop)

barometer (14:40 - 17:10)

the seaweed bit (36:41 - 36:51)

If you find any other miscellanous and assorted references -- outside of weather books -- to Folklore Weather Forecasting, please share them!

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