The same signs are quite general throughout the middle latitudes. Usually a hot, humid day brings on a thunderstorm. Should these gather, towering high in the sky, rain is certain to follow. A variation of the cirrus clouds is the so-called mackerel sky. This also tells of storms to come.
Clouds moving in different directions at various levels foretell rain.
Smoke rising and then falling again, indicates rain. Fog in the morning usually means a bright sunny day. A circle around the moon warns of a storm brewing. Fading stars are a sign of storm. In the open woods where the soil is sandy, the traveler will sometimes find rough stars of dirty, grayish brown that look as if some one in Nature's kindergarten had been playing with a pair of scissors.