Claire believes that cows can predict rain. Every time we go somewhere in the car, she notices if the cows are laying down — or not — and always tells me about the chance of rain. Lots of people scoff at her and a few agree that there might be something to it. There are lots of old wives tales and folklore about predicting the weather. Actually most of them are based on some sort of logic or long term observations and many are based on some scientific principles. I have no idea how the weather forecasters on TV arrive at their predictions — most claim to have super-computers and the latest radar, but I’m not convinced that they don’t drive around and check out what the cows are doing before they go on the air.
Animals have been used since ancient times to predict weather. Claire uses cows, but people look to lots of animals for weather predictions. Every February 2nd, people turn to Punxsutawney Phil to see if he sees his shadow and we’re stuck with six more weeks of winter or we can look forward to an early spring.
Besides cows and groundhogs, how about these weather forecasters…
Frogs — frogs are said to croak even louder and longer than usual when bad weather is on the horizon. So if you hear their volume go up, you can bet a storm is brewing.
Birds — check out how high they’re flying; if they’re flying high, weather is clear, but if they’re flying closer to the ground, the air pressure of a storm system is causing them pain at higher altitudes. A very old wives tale says if birds feed in a storm it will rain for a long time, if they don’t it will clear soon.
Bees and Butterflies — folklore goes that if they have disappeared from their usual spots in the flower beds, something is up.
Sheep — “When sheep gather in a huddle, tomorrow will have a puddle.” Folklore again says that you can expect a storm if sheep crowd together and shield each other.
Ladybugs — “When they swarm, expect a day that’s warm.” If you notice them looking for shelter, colder weather is on the way.
Ants — in preparation for bad weather, red and black ants have been know to build up their mounds for extra protection and even cover the mounds’ holes.
Cats — tend to clean behind their ears before rain.
Turtles — often search for higher ground when a large amount of rain is expected. You often see them in the road a day or two before the rain.
Of course there a other signs from nature that are used to predict the weather….
Check the grass for dew at sunrise. If the grass is dry, it usually indicates clouds or strong breezes that can mean rain. If there’s dew, it probably won’t rain that day.
When the dew is on the grass
Rain will never come to pass
When grass is dry at morning light,
Look for rain before the night.
So is there some scientific fact behind this? If dew has time for form on the ground overnight, it means the night was clear without any clouds. Clear skies allow the earth to cool, and water to condense in the form of dew (frost at cooler times of the year.) If the night is cloudy, the clouds act as a heat barrier keeping the heat in and not allowing the dew to form.
Summer fog means fair weather is on its way. Based on some science? Fog is made up of condensed water droplets which are the result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold water vapors. In the summer, the air can only cool enough if the night sky is clear enough that the heat can be radiated into space. If the night is cloudy, the clouds act as a blanket to keep it in. If you see fog during the summer, it usually means the next day will be clear. Just remember…
Summer fog for fair,
A winter fog for rain.
A fact most everywhere,
In valley or on plain.
Fishermen have an old saying:
Trout jump high,
when a rain is nigh.
The belief behind this one is that when air pressure lowers, gasses created by decaying plant matter, which resides on the bottom of the lake or body of water, begin to release. This, in turn, causes the tiny microorganisms that live in these plants to be released into the water, creating a feeding frenzy among the fish. This frenzy sometimes causes the fish to start jumping around.
If the rooster crows on going to bed,
You may rise with a watery head.
Many people believe birds can sense when there’s a decrease in air pressure. It’s been observed that an approaching storm makes birds restless. And when a rooster can’t rest, he tends to crow more.
We were visiting some friends in the mountains of West Virginia last spring and an Appalachian belief was pointed out to us. Look at where the hornets nests are built to predict snowfall. We were shown a nest that was very low and it had been rebuilt from being fairly high the year before. If the nest is high, more snow is expected, when the hornets build them low, less snow is expected. It did prove true, we didn’t have much snow at all this past winter.
But back to Claire and her cows… the fact is she’s almost made a believer of me and it appears she has support from a new study by scientists. The study was conducted by the Universities of Arizona and Northwest Missouri and discovered that cows stand up for longer periods when it is hot — proving there is a definite link between their behavior and the weather. The study was conducted to research the body temperature of cattle because when cows are too hot, their milk production suffers. Cows stand up longer when it is hotter because it helps lower their core body temperature by exposing more of their surface area — it allows their body heat to disperse in the air. They lie down when they want to conserve heat, and energy. So — this may explain why it may be true that cows lie down when rain is on the way. Rain is usually preceded by a bout of low pressure and it is also a sign that it is about to get cooler. If cows lose heat by standing up, then detecting the arrival of cooler weather will make them lie down.
Although I’ve never heard Claire talk about the cow’s tails, this may also be an indicator of bad weather approaching. When the weather gets warmer and more humid, flies become more active and swarm around the cows — this causes the cows to increase the swashing of their tails.
And to give her even more to observe on our next trip, she can note which direction their tails are facing. Cows and horses prefer not to have the wind blowing in their faces, so they usually stand with their back to the wind. Since westerly winds typically mean arriving or continuing fair weather and easterly winds usually indicate arriving or continuing unsettled weather, this is as good a tail/tale as any of knowing knowing what the weather will be up to….. it could even have its own weather rhyme:
Tails point west,
Weather’s at its best
Tails pointing east,
Weather is least.
So there you have it all you non-believers. Never underestimate the weather predicting power of the cow. Let’s raise our (milk) glasses for a toast….
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