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 calculated the Quantity of
Rain falling in one Year, and compared it with what fell in another.
Lord Bacon, that Honour to our Nation and the Age which produced him,
informs us
the Weather once in forty Years, and wishes it was inquired into. I
cannot tell whether this has ever been done or not, but I think there
is good Reason to conclude that there is a natural Balance established
of wet and dry Weather, as of Light and Darkness, Heat and Cold, and
other such like Variations.
IT may not be amiss to caution the Reader against a Mistake into which
the Manner of this Rule being stated may easily lead him. It is this,
that South West Winds cause Rain, and North East Winds fair Weather,
which however is not a Thing clear or certain by any means. This indeed
is true, that South West Winds and Rain, North East Winds and fair
Weather come together, generally speaking. But the Question is, which
causes the other, and a more difficult Question cannot easily be
stated, because there seems to be Facts on both sides. South West Winds
seldom continue long without Rain, this seems to prove the affirmative,
but on the other Hand, when in hard Weather, Rain begins to fall, the
Wind commonly veers to the South West, this looks as if the Rain caused
the Wind.
BUT to keep close to the Shepherd's Observation. There is one Thing
seems strongly to confirm it, which is this, that in any given Place
the Quantity of Rain one Year with another is found to be the same by
Experience, according to which the following Table has been calculated,
for the mean Quantity of Rain falling one Year with another in those
Places that are mentioned, and on this Proportion the other seems to be
founded.
At Harlem 24 Inches
Delf 27
Dort 40
Middleburg 33
Paris 20
Lyons 37
Rome 20
Padua 37-1/2
Pisa 34-1/4
Ulm 27
Berlin 19-1/2
In Lancashire 40
Essex 19-1/2
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...