| |
| Thunder
in January means more than rumbling in the sky to many East Texans. For many,
many years East Texans have been predicting the weather by trying to make heads
or tails of signs from Mother Nature. The state of the weather is often the first
subject people discuss when they meet. If you are living in East
Texas it is highly likely you have been hearing thunder that began yesterday
evening on January 8. What does thunder in January mean? |
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Thunder in January
means different things to different people. Out of everyone we spoke to, not one
person gave the same answer.
“Thunder in Texas
means your fixing to get wet…any month of the year,” according to one East Texan
who doesn’t put much stock in weather-lore. Other
East Texans still hold closely to the old wives’ tales that have been passed down
from generation to generation.
“My grand-daddy used to say, thunder in
January or February means frost in May,” Jana Pace of Cushing
told MYETX.
One old wives’ tale suggests that thunder in the winter means
there will be snow within a week to 10 days. Another says thunder in January means
there will be a crop-killing frost early in the fall. Another January thunder
tale predicts great floods for the month of June.
Others say it’s thunder
in February that is significant. One Houston County resident told MYETX they have
always heard, “If it thunders in February it will frost on that same day in April.”
Several East Texans recall hearing thunder in January of 2011. Last year,
2011 proved to be one of the driest years on record in Texas and broke drought
records across the state. However, it did snow on a few occasions throughout the
Pineywoods last year.
MYETX split a persimmon
seed again this year and found a spoon. Finding a spoon in a persimmon
seed foretells a wet winter with possible snow. East
Texas persimmons have portrayed spoons
for the last several years and for the last several years, it has snowed in East
Texas. In 2007, it snowed on Easter. |
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Still, others in East
Texas predict the weather based on a “feeling.” Weather is known to effect
the way people feel and when the weather is damp and cold, some folks experience
aches and pains. A change in the weather has been to blame for many achy knees
and backs.
Weather-lore
is one of the most popular topics among readers, especially in the weeks and months
leading up to winter each year and in the event of strange weather. If you look
up the word “lore” in the dictionary the official definition is “the body of knowledge,
especially of a traditional, anecdotal, or popular nature, on a particular subject.”
While meteorologists use sophisticated equipment to forecast the weather, old
timers have been making their own predictions for centuries by looking to the
skies, their surroundings, animal behavior and other factors they believe help
determine future weather conditions.
MYETX has compiled a list of popular
weather-lore sayings that East Texans have lived by for nearly two centuries.
If a dog
lies on his back, it is going to rain. When
the cows lie down in the field, it is going to rain. If
the cows are lying down in the field, the fishing is not good.
When the maple leaves turn inside out, it is going to rain. If
you see a ring around the moon, it will rain within 24 hours.
If you see the quarter moon tipped down, it will rain.
It will rain if you kill a spider in the house. Rain
before 7 will stop before 11 (a.m.). Trees
showing the undersides of their leaves foretell rain.If
ant hills are high in July, winter will be snowy. If
the first week in August is unusually warm, the coming winter will be snowy and
long. For every
fog in August, there will be a snowfall the following winter. Squirrels
gathering nuts in a flurry will cause snow to gather in a hurry.
A green Christmas = a white Easter.
© Dana
Goolsby
This
article was originally published on MYETX.com
"In
The Pines With Dana Goolsby"
January 27, 2012 Column | |
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