Farm season has arrived in Shelby
Farm season has arrived and many farmers are seen in the fields working the ground and planting. Some of the old-timers still rely on folklore and proverbs. Some of these ideas are:
After a year of snow, crops will grow. A several-inch of snow contains more air than ice. Trapped between the interlocking snowflakes, the air serves to insulate the plants beneath it. When the snow melts, the water helps to keep the ground moist.
A ring around the moon means rain will come soon. A ring or halo, around the moon, is caused when the light of the moon refracts through ice crystals present in high-level clouds. Although these clouds do not produce precipitation, they often occur in advance of an approaching lowpressure system, which often brings precipitation in the form of rain or snow.
If it rains on Easter Sunday, it will rain for the next six Sundays. This one is folklore, not science-backed.
Animals can predict the weather. When rain is on the way, old sheep turn their backs to the wind, cats sneeze, and cows lie down in a close huddle.
If there is thunder in winter, snow will fall 7 days later. This idea is supported by Topper Shutt, a chief meteorologist from Washington, D.C. His observations claim this happens 70 percent of the time, especially from the East Coast to the Central Plains. Thunder in winter is an anomaly often caused by a big dip and a big rise in the jet stream. As cold air moves south, it replaces warm air and lifts it up, often causing thunderstorms. The cold air behind the front settles in. Depending on the strength of the front, it may hang around for many days. When the nest weather system arrives several, if not exactly 7 days later, temperatures may still be cold enough to cause the moisture in the system to fall as snow.
To find out about the weather on your own, pay attention to winds and clouds. These are the big predictors of changes in barometric pressure and resulting weather. The adage “No weather is ill, if the wind is still” indicates a highpressure system, a broad area of descending air characterized by calm winds and little cloud formation.