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Most of us have heard a variety of popular weather sayings that humans have been repeating for centuries. Did you ever wonder what makes them true? Here is some of the science that turns these sayings into facts.
The full saying goes something like this: “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.”
The science: The sun sets in the west, and when the skies especially clear, we often see a red sunset. This occurs because light shines through more of the lower atmosphere, which contains dust, salt, smoke, and pollution, as the sun sets.
These particles affect some of the shorter wavelengths of light (which reflect the violence in the blues), which in turn only leaves the longer wavelengths which are the oranges and reds, the BBC reports.
We’ve all heard people about saying that they can predict the weather or that it’s going to rain because their arthritis flares up and they start reaching for their arthritis pain relief medication.
According to both the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Organization and the Arthritis Foundation, this is true.
A recent US study found that 67.9 percent of the arthritis sufferers surveyed were able to predict cold-weather or rain before it occurred.
The gist of why this is true is because a change in barometric pressure has an effect on the body that pushes against it from the outside. For people suffering from arthritis, it doesn’t take a lot of pressure to trigger their pain.
Therefore, when the weather starts to change, especially cold and damp weather, arthritis sufferers detect these changes and can often accurately anticipate rainfall.
Is it really possible for it to be too cold to snow? In short, yes, but it depends on the location. There needs to be moisture in the air for the snow to occur. The colder air gets, the less water vapor it can hold.
For example, if the temperature gets -4 degrees Fahrenheit, and is no longer holding the water vapor, the likelihood of snowfall is significantly reduced.
This one has a logical and simple explanation. As humans, we may not be able to detect approaching storms, but animals can do so long before us. Dogs and cats are significantly more sensitive to sound, smells, and changes in atmospheric pressure.
The inner ears of cats may be able to detect the sudden drop in atmospheric pressure, and may have learned to associate this with an oncoming storm, the BBC reports.
Likewise, the powerful hearing and olfactory capabilities of dogs may pick up the scent of ozone gas, which is often created by lightning and has a sharp, metallic odor, as well as faint rumbles of thunder in the distance.
The simple effect of moist air explains this one. When the weather becomes drier, and pinecones begin to dry out, their scales began to stand out more stiffly, which gives them an “open” appearance.
Oppositely, during damp conditions, these scales become more flexible and relaxed to a more closed shape.
