5 August Weather Sayings Worth Remembering

August may be known for heat, late-summer storms, and the last of the Dog Days of Summer, but according to old weather lore, this month may also offer clues about fall and winter.

For generations, farmers watched foggy mornings, weeds, temperatures, and other signs in nature. Were they foolproof forecasts? Not exactly—but these August weather sayings are certainly fun to remember.

1. “For every fog in August, there will be a snowfall the following winter.”

This may be the granddaddy of August weather lore.

The tradition is simple: Count every foggy morning in August, and that number is supposed to equal the number of snowfalls in the coming winter. Some families even use the old “beans in a jar” method, dropping in one bean for every fog.

Want to try it? Read more about the August fog and winter snow tradition.

And if you’re wondering what officially qualifies as fog, the National Weather Service explains fog and low-visibility conditions.

2. “If the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and long.”

Hot start to August? According to folklore, you may want to keep that snow shovel handy.

There’s no proven meteorological connection between an unusually warm first week of August and a snowy winter—the North Carolina State Climate Office tested versions of this lore and found little predictive relationship—but that hasn’t stopped generations of weather watchers from keeping track.

3. “If a cold August follows a hot July, it foretells a winter hard and dry.”

A sudden late-summer cool-down once had people looking much farther ahead.

This rhyme is another longtime favorite in collections of Farmers’ Almanac weather lore. Whether winter cooperates or not, it gives you one more reason to notice when August suddenly starts feeling like September.

4. “Dry August and warm doth harvest no harm.”

Here’s one with deep roots.

Variations of this old agricultural proverb date back centuries and reflect a practical concern: favorable late-summer weather could make harvesting a whole lot easier. The saying appears in historical collections associated with English farmer and writer Thomas Tusser, whose Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry dates to the 16th century.

Some weather lore was less about predicting the future and more about remembering what conditions were good for the farm.

5. “As high as the weeds grow in August, so will the bank of snow.”

Before you attack those towering weeds, take a good look at them.

Old lore says unusually tall weeds in August could mean unusually deep snowbanks in winter. There’s no need to measure the goldenrod with a yardstick, of course—but it’s exactly the kind of playful observation that has kept snow folklore alive for generations.

Does August Really Predict Winter?

Not reliably. Weather folklore grew from generations of close observation, but modern studies have found little evidence that August fog counts or temperatures can accurately predict an entire winter.

Still, that’s part of the fun. Weather sayings encourage us to put down the phone, step outside, and notice what nature is doing.

So this August, count the fogs, watch the weeds, remember the heat—and see how the old sayings fare when winter arrives.

For more old-fashioned forecasting fun, explore our collection of natural signs people have used to predict the weather.