Insects and frogs

There is also truth to the notion that crickets can act as nature’s thermometer. The insects are ectotherms, meaning their body temperature changes with that of their surrounding environment — and they routinely chirp faster in warmer weather.



According to Dolbear’s Law, a formula describing this association between crickets and weather, “you can count the number of chirps per 15 seconds, add 40, and that will give you the temperature in Fahrenheit,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes.



Frogs also deliver unique calls when it’s about to rain.



“Many twentieth-century herpetologists have confirmed and clarified the traditional observation that various species of frogs sometimes utter a distinctive vocalization, a ‘rain call,’ a short time before wet weather,” said Dr. Gordon Miller, a professor emeritus of environmental studies at Seattle University, via email.



The calls “are perhaps triggered by a rise in humidity prior to precipitation,” Miller said.

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Animals and Severe Weather

The Old Farmer’s Almanac has aggregated a couple dozen adages about insects, animals and their ability to predict weather patterns.



Some of the claims are dubious. Dogs eating grass, for example, is likely a far less accurate predictor of rain than a meteorologist’s weather report.



But there is research out there that suggests some animals may possess an innate sense that helps them detect when a disaster is on the way.



Golden-winged warblers, for example, evacuated an area of Tennessee more than 24 hours before a devastating string of tornadoes hit the area, according to a December 2014 study published in the journal Current Biology.



The study authors predicted the migrant birds listened to infrasound — sound at frequencies too low for humans to hear — associated with the storms and heeded it as a warning sign.



Researchers in Germany also looked into whether various species of animals could detect an oncoming earthquake. The scientists found that, collectively, animals including cows, sheep and dogs exhibited more activity before an earthquake up to 20 hours in advance, according to a report from Germany’s Max Planck Society, a nonprofit association of research institutes.

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When pigs gather leaves and straw in their pens like a nest, expect freezing weather.

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Trees and the weather

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Nothing is easier than hanging a pinecone on a string. When it’s open, the weather is good; when it closes, bad weather is coming. Predicting the weather is useful for the garden. It’s simple and it works.

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Smell:

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  When there is fair weather, air pressure is high, so the scent of things like wet, dank soil, is not as strong. On a day of low pressure, odors around you become stronger, as the change of pressure creates chance of rain.

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Snow and Bad Weather Lore:

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* When bees build their nests high in the trees, expect a hard winter.

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* If corn husks are thick and tight, rough winter ahead.

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* When apples or onion skins are very thin, a mild winter is coming.

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* If it is a cold, cloudy day and the smoke from your fire rises, there is a chance of snow.

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* If spiders take sown their webs, expect heavy rain.

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* When leaves fall early, the Fall and Winter seasons will be mild.

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* When leaves fall late, expect the winter to be severe.

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* If butterflies start to migrate early, there will be an early winter.

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