There is a lot of weather lore being tossed around this week in the midst of the latest winter storm.
Besides Groundhog Day coming on Feb. 2, there also was Thunder snow and Thunder ice on Monday plus a halo around the moon during the weekend.
First, the halo around the moon. Before modern meteorology, watching the skies and relying on past history was the primary source of forecasting. For example, the halo around the moon, according to the Farmer’s Almanac, predicts wet or stormy weather.
Many of these proverbs were based on some bits of truth. The Almanac reports the ring around the moon usually indicates an advancing warm front, which means precipitation. Under those conditions, high, thin clouds get lower and thicker as they pass over the moon. Ice crystals are reflected by the moon’s light, causing a halo to appear. Despite some cloudy skies, several people reported seeing the halo.
There are several proverbs about thunder at various times during the spring.
Thunder in March betokens a fruitful year.
If it thunders on All Fools Day (April 1), it brings good crops of corn and hay.
Thunder in November, a fertile year to come.
Thunder in December presages fine weather.
Then we have Groundhog Day on Feb. 2. Will he or won’t he see his shadow? According to folklore:
If Phil does see his shadow (meaning the sun is shining), winter will not end early, and we’ll have another six weeks left of it.
If Phil doesn’t see his shadow (cloudy) we’ll have an early spring.
The folks at Punxsutawney, PA have been gathering for years in Gobbler’s Knob to see if Phil the groundhog shows his head out of the burrow. They have made something of a national celebration for it considering him the “Official Groundhog.”
The Farmer’s Almanac report that Phil’s “Inner Circle,” claim his predictions are almost always right, but records indicate it’s more like 39% since Phil began prognosticating back in 1887. The record shows he has predicted an early end to winter 18 times. In 2011 he predicted early spring only to see the eastern half of the U.S. get pounded with snow on into mid-March.
The date of Groundhog Day coincides with the medieval feast of Candlemas and its pre-Christian predecessor, Imbolc. An old Scottish prophecy foretells that sunny weather on Candlemas means a long winter.
No matter what the weather spring will officially arrive with Vernal Equinox at 5:24 p.m. on March 20. The Farmer’s Almanac reports warmer, spring-like weather may not come until a little later.