Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-08-05

SIGNS OF THE WEATHER.


coming flood, no subject has occupied a
greater place in the attention of the human
race than the weather. The first remarks
between strangers invariably
relate to this time-honored topic; and it
seems to form starting point for all con-
versations. For the guidance Of those
who would be "weather-wise' and able to
read the signs of the skies, we give the
most noticeable prognostications of COM
ing changes, which we find in one of our
contemporaries
Animated bodies receive peculiar i'm
pressions that precede and announce
change of weather. Thus we hear distant
sounds better when there is going to be
rain; we also then see remote objects more
distinctly, and bad odors are more often
sive than usual. rg m,e
Swallows skim the ground in theirflight;
is it that they may feed on the worms that
then come out to the surface Lizards
hide. cats make their toilet, birds oil their
feathers, flies bite more sharply, chickens
scratch themselves and roll in the dust,
fish leap out of the water, and aquatic
birds flap their wings and dabble in the
ponds and brooks. it98 ltaA
Nearly all the signs indicated announce
dampness in the air, rather than the ap-
prOach of rain, for they are not seen when
a storm occurs in dry weather. Thus the
swelling of woodwork, WHICH renders
it difficult to close doors made of soft
and the contraction and tension of
cordage made of vegetable fbres, are
counted among the signs of atmospheric
Rude hygrometers have even
been constructed of these fibres. a8 a4a
Certain flowers do not open at all in
rainy weather; others, the Siberian thistle
particularly, remain open or shut accord
ing as the weather is going to be rainy OF
dry.
Pallor of the sun announces rain; it is
seen. at such times only, through an at
mosphere laden with yapors. II the heat
be sitting. that too is a sign of rain for
one is then surrounded by an atmosphere
saturated with vapor, and more readily
heated, owing to its lack Of transparency.
If the vapors be collected in clouds. the
suns rays that pass through the latter
heighten the temperature more than they
would have done in perfectly clear wealth
er. If the sun be clear and brilliant, it
foretells fine day; but when the sun is
at its rising preceded by redness, and this
redness passes off the moment it does ap-
pear, the sign is of rain.
Two winds of opposite qualities succeed
ing each other often bring rain. Thus a
cold wind, entering an atmosphere i'm
pregnatcd with moisture by the warm
wind that preceded it, will bring about a
precipitation of water; and the same will
be the case where damp warm wind en-
tiers air that had been chilled by the wind
that had preceded it. 6 ~
Generally. an approaching rain can he
better foreseen when the sky presents sew
eral banks or layers of clouds resting one
above the other. The winds that carry
with them detached masses of clouds yield
but light rains. a9aag has
Motionless clouds. lying in the quarter
whence the wind blows, bring only con-
tinuance of that wind; but il they appear
in the opposite quarter, they announce its
termination.
Clouds coming up simultaneously, yet
impelled by different winds, announce an
early storm.
Clouds accommodating on the sides of
mountains foretell rain.
The following are the signs most familiar
to navigators and farmers:
A rosy sky at sunset fine weather. A
red sky in the morning, bad weather, or a
good deal of wind.
A gray sky in the morning, fine weather.
If the first light of dawn appears over
bed of clolls, wind may be looked for.
If on the horizon fine weather
Light clouds with imperfectly defined
edges announce fine weather and moderate
breezcs. Thick clouds with well-marked
edges, wind. A deep. dark blue sky of
sombre tnge indicates wind. A clear and
brilliant blue sky indicates fine weather.
The lighter the clouds look, the less rea-
son is there to anticipate wind. The more
dense, the more rolled together, twisted.
and tattered they are, the stronger the
wind will be- A brilliant yellow sky at
sunset announces wind; a pale yellow one, i,
rain According to the predominance of
red. yellow, or grayish tints. We can lore
tell the condition of the weather with
very close approximation to accuracy.
Small clouds of an inky color portend
rail. Light clouds moving rapidly in the
direction opposite to dense masses, an
noasce wind and rain.
High clouds passing before the SUI. the
moon. or the atars. in II direction opposite
to thai 20 rshcd by the lower beds of clouds
or of the wind felt at the surface of the
soil, indicate change OF wind. Ia
Alter tn,e weather, the first signs of a
cnanSe arc SoltEsFliiiy hisn "Heo Siouuo AZ
belts, or in light dappled tufts or locks
which grow largay and soon form dense
and sombre masses Generally, the more
remote and higher qpttsese clouds appear,
the less abrupt the change OF weather will
be, but it win be considerable.
Soft, delicate, tints. with clouds OF de-
cided shade, indicate or accompany fine
weather. Extraordinary tints and dense
clouds, with hard outlines. indicate rain
and probably gale of wind.
Remark the clouds that form on nIIs
! If thew continne there, augment, or de-
seend. they indicate rain. If they. bow,
ever, ascend and disperse, they pcrtend
| GOOD weather. When sea-birds ny out
away from land in the morning. there WI, Y,
he fine weather and moderate winds. u
they remain near the shore, or ny 'nlana,
gales and storms may be expscted' MANY