If It Begins To Rain An Hour Or Two Before Sun Rising
If it begins to rain an Hour or two before Sun-rising, it is like to
be fair before Noon, and so continue that Day, but if the Rain
begin an Hour or two after Sun-rising, it is like to Rain all that
Day, except the Rainbow be seen before it rains.
THIS is a short, clear, and easy Observation, and therefore I shall not
dwell long upon it, but rather entertain the Reader with a few
Observations on the Rainb
circumstanced. The Spectator has the Sun behind him, and Clouds with
the Bow in them before him. Sometimes there are two and even three Bows
seen, but this is very rare. The Colours in the Bow are ranged in this
Order, viz. Violet, Purple, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red. After a
long Drought the Bow is a certain Sign of Rain, if after much Wet fair
Weather. If the Green be large and bright it is a Sign of Rain, but if
the Red be the strongest Colour, then it denotes Wind and Rain
together. If the Bow breaks up all at once there will follow serene and
settled Weather. If the Bow be seen in the Morning small Rain will
follow. If at Noon, settled and heavy Rains; if at Night, fair Weather.
The Appearance of two or three Rainbows shews fair Weather for the
present, but settled and heavy Rains in two or three Days' Time.
LUNAR Rainbows are sometimes, but very seldom seen, they are extremely
beautiful, but much less than those that appear in the Day time, and a
yellow, or rather a straw Colour prevails most. As they happen so
seldom, they cannot well be reckoned amongst the Signs of Weather. But
now, after speaking of so many different Methods of judging when rainy
Weather will be of a short or long Continuance: Give me leave to
describe two or three Instruments easily made, which will shew the
Alterations of the Weather certainly, constantly, and early enough for
most Uses.
THERE were some Years ago a Sort of Toys sold, with a Man and a Woman
so fixed before the Door of a House, that at the Approach of wet
Weather the Woman entered it, and when the Weather grew fair the Man.
This was done by the Help of a Bit of Catgut, which shrinks in wet
Weather, and stretches again when it is fair. This appears better by a
Line and Plummet, especially if the Line be made of good Whipcord, that
is well dried, for then if it be hung against a Wainscot, and a Line
drawn under it exactly where the Plummet reaches, in very moderate
Weather it will be found to rise above it before Rain, and to sink
below when the Weather is like to become fair; but the best Instrument
of all is a good Pair of Scales, in one of which let there be a brass
Weight of a Pound, and in the other a Pound of Salt, or of Salt-Petre
well dried, a Stand being placed under the Scale, so as to hinder its
falling too low. When it is inclined to rain the Salt will swell, and
sink the Scale, when the Weather is growing fair, the brass Weight will
regain its Ascendancy.
More
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When The Wind Turns To North East
When the Wind turns to North East, and it continues two Days without Rain, and does not turn South the third Day, nor Rain the third Day, it is likely to continue North East for eight or nine Days, all fair; and then to come to the South again. I... Clouds In Summer Or Harvent
In Summer or Harvest, when the Wind has been South two or three Days, and it grows very hot, and you see Clouds rise with great white Tops like Towers, as if one were upon the Top of another, and joined together with ... Clouds Large Like Rocks Great Showers
IN the old Almanacks we have this Sign of the Weather thus expressed. When Clouds appear like Rocks and Towers, The Earth's refresh'd by frequent Showers. THE Reason of this seems to be, that the watery Vapours are then condensed, or co... Clouds: Small And Round Like A Dappley-grey With A North-wind Fair Weather For 2 Or 3 Days
THIS is differently expressed by other Authors. My Lord Bacon tells us, that if Clouds appear white, and drive to the N. W. it is a Sign of several Days fair Weather. OUR old English Almanacks have a Maxim to this Purpose. If woolly Fleeces... Fair Weather For A Week
Fair Weather for a Week, with a Southern Wind, is like to produce a great Drought, if there has been much Rain out of the South before. The Wind usually turns from North to South, with a quiet Wind without Rain, but returns to the North, with a stro... If Cloudy And It Soon Decrease Certain Fair Weather
I Conceive the Reason of this to be, that the Vapours being then specifically lighter than the Air, are still rising upwards, in which they are assisted by the Heat of the Sun Beams, agreeable to the Notion of Dr. Derham, who observes, that after mu... If In The New Moon Rain In The Old
WHEN Exhalations rise copiously from the Earth into the Region of the Air, and the Air itself is in a proper Disposition, they ascend to a great Height, and continue a long Time before they are condensed, which accounts very clearly and philosophica... If In The Old Rain In The New
BUT as it is observed not only in this Climate, but all the World over, that great Changes of Weather happen near the Change of the Moon, it follows that this is the Season when these Exhalations that ascend so plentifully at Sun-rising are condense... If It Begins To Rain An Hour Or Two Before Sun Rising
If it begins to rain an Hour or two before Sun-rising, it is like to be fair before Noon, and so continue that Day, but if the Rain begin an Hour or two after Sun-rising, it is like to Rain all that Day, except the Rainbow be seen before it rains. ... If It Begins To Rain From The South
If it begin to Rain from the South, with a high Wind for two or three Hours, and the Wind falls, but the Rain continues, it is like to rain twelve Hours or more, and does usually rain till a strong North Wind clears the Air. These long Rains seldom ... If It Return To The South Within A Day Or Two Without Rain
If it return to the South within a Day or two without Rain, and turn Northward with Rain, and return to the South, in one or two Days, as before, two or three Times together after this Sort, then it is like to be in the South, or South West, two or ... If It Turn Out Again Out Of The South
If it turn out again out of the South to the North East with Rain, and continues in the North East two Days without Rain, and neither turns South nor rains the third Day, it is like to continue North East for two or three months. The Wind will fi... If Large Clouds Decrease Fair Weather
THE same kind of Reasoning accounts very clearly for this Prognostick, since it shews, that the Vapours are either exhaled by the Sun's Heat, or are driven off by Winds, and so resolved into smaller Clouds, capable of ascending higher in the Atmosph... If October And November Are Full Of Snow And Frost
If October and November be Snow and Frost, then January and February are like to be open and mild. AS this Observation stands on the same Foundation with the last, we need not dwell upon it particularly, and therefore I shall proceed with my form... If Small Clouds Increase Much Rain
THIS and the following Observation cannot well be understood, without giving some Account of Clouds in general. The Atmosphere is supposed to extend itself about five Miles round this Globe of Earth, and within that Space move all kind of Vapours ex... If The Sun Rise Red And Firey Wind And Rain
THE Reason of this Appearance is, because the Sun shines through a large Mass of Vapours, which occasions that red Colour that has been always esteemed a Sign of Rain, especially if the Face of the Sun appear bigger than it ought, for then in a few ... If Two Such Clouds Arise One On Either Hand It Is Time To Make Haste To Shelter
AS this Observation is of the same Nature with the former, we shall continue our Remarks. The Reason why it seldom thunders in Winter is, because the exterior Parts of the Earth are so contracted by the cold Snow and Ice, that Sulphur cannot perspir... If You See A Cloud Rise Against The Wind Or Side Wind
When that Cloud comes up to you, the Wind will blow the same Way that the Cloud came. And the same Rule holds of a clear Place, when all the Sky is equally thick, except one clear Edge. THIS seems to arise from hence, that Wind being nothing more ... Mists If They Rise To The Hill-tops } Rain In A Day Or Two
WHEN Mists are very, heavy in themselves, and rise only by the Action of that protrusive Force, exerted by the subterranean Fire, they can rise no higher than where the Gravitation becomes superior to that protrusive force, for then they descend aga... Mists A General Mist Before The Sun Rises Near The Full Moon Fair Weather
THIS is a general and a very extensive Observation, which enables us to judge of the Weather for about a Fortnight, and there is very great Reason to believe that it will very rarely deceive us. In order to convince the Reader of this, it will be ne... Mists If They Rise In Low Ground And Soon Vanish } Fair Weather
THIS is a sure Sign and very well expressed, that is, clearly, and, in few Words, which is the Excellency of such Aphorisms. In order to be convinced of its good Sense and Certainty, we must consider a little what Mists are, whence they rise, and wh... S W Winds
After a northerly Wind for the most Part two months or more, and then coming South, there are usually three or four fair Days at first, and then, on the fourth or fifth Day, comes Rain, or else the Wind tu... Spring And Summer
If the last eighteen Days of February and ten Days of March be for the most part rainy, then the Spring and Summer Quarters are like to be so too: and I never knew a great ... Sudden Rains Never Last Long:
But when the Air grows thick by Degrees, and the Sun, Moon, and Stars shine dimmer and dimmer, then it is like to rain six Hours usually. RAIN is, properly speaking, a Multitude of small watery Drops, falling from the upper Air at different Seas... Winds Observe That In Eight Years' As Many Wet Years As Dry
THIS must be allowed a very extraordinary Aphorism from a Country Shepherd, but at the same Time it is very agreeable to the Observations of Dr. Hooke, Dr. Derham, Dr. Grew, and other able Naturalists, who with unwearied Pains and Diligence have cal... Winter Time
If the latter End of October and Beginning of November be for the most Part warm and rainy, then January and February are like to be frosty and cold, except after a very dry Summer. IT is very evident, supposing this Obs...