The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-07-25
PROVERBAL WEATHER

BY Frederie j. Haskin.

OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
erous tiny water globules are pres
emit and that the dust particles, In
spite of the heat which they have abb
sorbed from the sun, have become
loaded with such moisture. To pro-
duce this effect the atmosphere, to
a considerable height, must be prac-
tfcally saturated, condition which
favors rain and justifies such prov
CRIBS as: IF the sun is set in grey,
the next will be rainy day; but II
the sun goes pale to bed, twill rain
tomorrow, it is said"
Many proverbs foretelling bad
weather are based on the appearance
of color or lunar halos or coronas.
and, as these form only when there
is much moisture in the air, the
proverbs of this class are well found
ed. Typical of such sayings is that
Of the zuni Indians which predicts
When the sun is in his house 1t VIII
rain soon" Other adages refer to
the apparent diameter of the circle
in connection with the proximity OF
the bad weather. Thus we have:
The bigger the ring, the nearer the
wet
Moon and Weather.
Many people have supposed, and
some still maintain, that the moon
controls the weather. Therefore.
are there numerous proverbs based
upon this assumed relation This be-
lief is no doubt due to the fact that
the appearance of the moon depends
upon the condition of the atmos-
phere and, therefore, proverbs based
upon phenomena of this nature are
of much value when applied to local
predictions.
This, Clear moon, frost soon" and
Moonlight nights have the heaviest
frosts" are true, because. on the
clearer nights, the cooling of the
earth's surface by radiation is great
est and most likely TO cause precipt-
tation.
Sharp horns do threaten windy
weather" is another interesting prov
erb finding scientific foundation on
the fact that when the air is clear,
sight is interfered with by atmos-
pheric inequalities which winds will
eliminate. Therefore, when the
moons horns appear sharper when
there is noshing to Interfere with
the sight-we know that these In
equalities do not exist and the nat
ural inference is that they have been
smoothed out by strong winds which
will later reach the surface of the
earth.
Like the sun and moon, the stars
have furnished a number of prov
CRIBS concerning the weather. Many
of these are nonsense, put few have
decided merit. as. for instance:
When the stars begin to huddle,
The earth will soon become pud-
die"
Backed by Science.
While this maxim sounds foolish,
it contains the germ of excellent
forecast. The scientific reason be-
hind the couplet is that when mist,
due to the beginning of condensation.
forms over the sky the smaller stars
cease to be visible, while the bright
er ones shine dimly with a blur of
light about them, each one looking
like small confused cluster of stars.
Hence the idea that stars can 'hud-
die" together at one time and be
separated at another.
The height, extent and shapes of
clouds depend upon the humidity,
temperature and motion of the at
mosphere. Consequently. they often
coming weather Thus one proyerb
correctly says: The higher the cloud,
the finer the weather" This saying
must. however. be restricted to stat
US or others of the more common
clouds. It does not apply to those
wispy or cirrus clouds, the high
est of all, that float from five to eight
miles above sea level. In connection
with these the proverb says: Mack
erel scales and mares tails make
lofty ships carry low sails
Part of the air which forms the
strong upward current near the CEN
ter of a storm rises to great heights
when it gets into the swiftly NOV
ing layers that carry it and its ice
particles far ahead OF the rains. This
is the most common method for the
formation of the clouds alluded to
in the last proverb, and, as the re-
sultant clouds are only the overrun-
ming portion of storm that is com
ing from the same general direction,
the adage is evidently well founded.
1t will, therefore, be seen that in
weather forecasting, as in most other
occupations, there is little that is
new and that Uncle Sam Is merely
applying the wisdom stored up In the
proverbs by bygone ages when he an.
nounces his predictions which are
worth countless millions of dollars
to the farmers every year.
Wy