Spring Weather Lore
While most of us are familiar with "April showers bring May flowers," there are many other weather folklore sayings associated with the spring season, which is notorious for wild, crazy weather. Which of these have you heard?
Spring has sprung! And while most of us are familiar with “April showers bring May flowers,” there are many weather folklore sayings associated with spring, which is a season notorious for wild, crazy weather. Have you heard any of these?
March
- Is’t on St. Joseph’s day (19th) clear,
So follows a fertile year;
Is’t on St. Mary’s (25th) bright and clear,
Fertile is said to be the year.
April
- If it thunders on All Fool’s Day, it brings good crops of corn and hay.
- A cold May and a windy April, a full barn.
- March’ll search ye, April try ye; May’ll tell, whether live or die ye.
- If the oak is out before the ash then we are in for a splash;
But if the ash is out before the oak we are in for a soak. - April cold and wet fills barn and barrel.
- When April blows its horn
Then it stands good with hay, rye, and corn. - A cold and moist April fills the cellar and fattens the cow
May
- Hoar-frost on the 1st of May indicates a good harvest.
- A dry May and a leaking June
Make the farmer whistle a merry tune. - Look at your corn in May,
And you’ll come sorrowing away;
Look at it again in June,
And you’ll come singing another tune. - A dewy morning brings a good haying day.
- A heavy dew at night promises a good day to follow.
June
- If June is sunny, the harvest will come early.
- In June, when there is no dew, it indicates rain.
- A cold and wet June spoils the rest of the year.
- June, damp and warm, does a farmer no harm.
- A good rain in June sets all in tune.
There’s lots more June weather lore sayings here!
And what’s spring without rain? These are the signs that foretell rain:
- Rain before 7 – clear before 11.
Rain after 7 – rain all day. - If it rains on the first Sunday of the month, every Sunday except one usually will be wet.
- When the ants close up their hills, we will have rain in a day or two;
if the ant hills are open, it will continue to be fair. - When leaves turn over, it’s a sign of rain.
- Variable wind indicates a coming storm.
- When robins call loudly and steadily, it will rain soon.
- Three foggy mornings and then a rain.
- No dew in the morning indicates rain.
- Low banks of haze in the south indicate rain.
- Step on a spider and it will surely bring rain.
- The louder the frog, the more the rain.
Heard of any other spring weather lore sayings? Share them with us!
This article was published by the staff at Farmers' Almanac. Do you have a question or an idea for an article? Contact us!
I heard a meteorologist say one time if the cows are lying down it’s means rain.
Red sky in the morning sailors warning. Red sky at night sailors delight.
My mother taught us that when we were quite young and I found it to always be true.
My grandmother taught me this when I was about 4 years old. That was in 1947.
If it rains and the suns out it will rain tomorrow!
True! My grandparents told me this and I’ve found it to be true more than not.
My Dad said; “When hornets build their nests near the ground, expect a cold and early winter.”
I heard that there are 3 winter spells before summer, endogwood winter, blackberry winter and linen breeches winter. It this correct?
Wash your car and it will rain
April showers bring May Flowers!
If it rains on Easter Sunday it will rain seven Sunday’s in a row immediately following Easter.
heard that more than a few times and also experienced it.
March always borrows 12 days of April.
I heard growing up: “A dry June will scare you to death and a wet June will starve you to death.”
Some of these are familiar to me as I heard them from my grandmother. Wish I had put
pen to paper when she said them as now my memory doesn’t serve me well.
A Mackerel sky is never long dry.
My grandpa always said there would be 3 cold rains in May before Mother’s Day
If the weather looks iffy… My great grandmother (born in the 1870’s) said if there is enough blue in the sky to patch a pair of men’s work pants, it won’t rain.