Weather eye

[Boatman53]

I met up with ArtD a couple of weeks ago and the topic of weather came up and I shared something he had never heard before so thought I’d start a thread. We get so dependent on all the weather news, apps, radar at our fingertips it’s almost hard to remember we can just look outside. When I go on a trip I try to get away from all that technology but it’s still nice to be prepared for weather changes. One very good book on practical weather sense is Eric Sloanes ‘Weather Book’ I don’t know if it is still in print but try to find one for when technology goes down. Plus sometimes the big picture weather doesn’t match local conditions.
This was the weather forecast for my canoe trip in the BWCA in 2022, what a forecast. I know at least one other member here was there at the same time. One night I think it was Wednesday as we were boiling/rehydrating the vegatable medley I noticed that I kept having to add more water, more than usual. So I said to my friend we better prepare for some rain tonight or tomorrow morning. He thought I was nuts but went along to humor me. Sure enough by 4 am we hear the pitter patter of rain on the tent fly. It was short lived and by 9 am it was dry and off we went.

I’ve lived in a tent for a year and a half, I’ve lived on a boat for for four summers and most of my working life I’ve been outside doing weather dependent work from land surveying in Idaho and Washington to boat work. Most of that before you could get more than the NOAA report.
I know I didn’t want to start a big varnish job only to find out I missed a weather change.
Another saying that I follow is “dry by 7 rain by 11”. If you wake up to a lot of dew it will be a nice day. Not much or no dew get ready for rain. It didn’t always come by 11 but I don’t remember it being wrong.
So what does your weather eye tell you? How do you spot changes in the weather?
I’ll add more tips from the Weather Book as the thread progresses.
Jim

 

[clemency]

Had to look this up since Eric Sloane is such familiar name from his books about tools. We find stuff archaeologically and he's a good reference. Anyway, the Weather Book is long out of print, but there are definitely copies on Amazon. Had no idea about this other direction.

 

[Boatman53]

A lot of the book is reprinted articles from the old boating magazines from maybe the forties like Yachting, Motor Boating, and one of my favorites Rudder magazine.
I too love his other books like Tools and Barns.
Jim

 

[Rippy]

I don't have much but here goes. Red sky morning, sailors take warning. Looking forward to some more wisdom being shared.

 

[goonstroke]

I love a NWS Hourly Weather Forecast Graph, especially for a quick weekend trip, but on a longer trip when I have think for myself the most useful signal is the wind direction. This is somewhat location/geography specific, but in interior Maine, where the predominant (and driest) winds are from the northwest, the rules go something like this, wind from:
W, NW, N: Fair weather, dry, windy on the lakes in the afternoon but it dies down around dinnertime
SW, S, SE: Going to rain tomorrow, wind might blow all night
NE, E: unusual; storm?
Variable/Calm: It's probably raining, or if the sun pokes out there will be afternoon thundershowers
This is obviously pretty crude but I've found it helpful.

 

[Bob B.]

I am a cloud watcher. Like Rippy, Red sky at night, red sky in morning …

When fish scales ( mackerel scales ) are in the sky, within 24 hours it will not be dry. Cirrus clouds indicate weather change, usually getting warmer but then producing rain, mind your wind direction and velocity. Further, pay attention to your campfire smoke, watch how high it travels as well as if it levels off or continues rising …

I am not always correct but often have had enough warning to make safe decisions relative on when to travel and when to hunker down.

Bob.

 

[lowangle al]

I do check weather reports before I go, but not while out there. I do think it's a good idea though. I've seen you tubers use them to good advantage for things like planning open water crossings. It's also good to know of impending thunderstorms when choosing a campsite or planning your days travel.

The extent of my weather predicting is identifying an approaching storm early and getting to shore. Other than that, I always assume it could rain at night and prepare my camp accordingly, no matter how clear and starry the night begins.

 

[Rippy]

I have to agree with Goonstroke on watching wind direction. winds out of the east usually spell trouble for me. NW is normal where I'm at.

 

[Boatman53]

This is great all good info.
A halo around the moon or sun indicates rain is on the way. Totally subjective but the smaller the halo the sooner the rain will come.
Jim

 

[riverstrider]

When fish scales ( mackerel scales ) are in the sky, within 24 hours it will not be dry. Cirrus clouds indicate weather change, usually getting warmer but then producing rain, mind your wind direction and velocity. Further, pay attention to your campfire smoke, watch how high it travels as well as if it levels off or continues rising …

I am also a cloud watcher, and they rarely lead me astray in either predicting rain or at least predicting a change in the weather. And I now know that campfire smoke hugging the ground for a good distance means rain, probably heavy, is coming. I did not know that the first time I saw the phenomenon, as we were sitting around a small campfire on the shore of Lake Memphremagog. We noticed the smoke heading out to the lake in a thick column, never rising any more than 2 or 3 feet off the ground. We followed it out to the lake, where it continued its trajectory until we could no longer see it in the dark. At the time, we just thought it was odd. After we hit the tents, it poured all night. The flows in the river we were headed to (Missisquoi) quintupled overnight. Fortunately, that changed the character of the river from a scratch-fest to a smoother ride. Ever since then, though, we always pay attention to our campfire smoke.

 

[Boatman53]

Thanks Riverstrider. It this thread was quiet till this evening that is just what I was going to share but it’s much better with your personal experience.
Now I have to think of something else.
Jim

 

[Boatman53]

Well I just saw beautiful Sundog as the sun was setting and if I didn’t know it already it is a sign that a storm is on the way. Yes we will be getting quite a storm starting tomorrow afternoon.
Another subtle sign is when you see birds just hanging out on the ground. Living the last 40 years near the ocean those bird would be gulls and lots of them. I’ll see if I can get a pic of the field near our house tomorrow. They tend not to fly when a low pressure is moving in because it is harder to fly in the thinning air.
I have been having a great time rereading Sloanes Weather Book, and found a fun fact, the saying “red sky at night sailors delight, red sky in the morning sailors take warning” actually is from the Bible Mathew chapter 16. Not being a bible person or a church person (the outdoors is my church) I had to look it up.
Jim

 

[yknpdlr]

I've heard that there is actual loose scientific rationale behind the red sky thing. Weather tends to travel west to east. At night, if a red sky is visible in the west it is because dust in the sky has been kicked up by earlier sunshine warmth causing rising air in clear dry sky in the west under good weather high pressure. That good weather system will be coming your way tomorrow. With the setting sun, winds usually calm down at night. Red sky in the morning means that a low pressure system to your east has kicked up dusty air overnight with turbulent wind flowing from the east to west at night, possibly from a counterclockwise rotating unstable low pressure area with upper level and/or lower level winds bringing it your way. Makes some sense, if not 100% accurate.

 

[Boatman53]

That is pretty much as described in the book but he adds that a yellow or hazy sunset is shining through moisture.
Jim