Weather Sayings

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Whilst waiting for the weather system to come down from the north....

....Where did the saying "Batten down the Hatches" come from?
I noticed the ...* ... on TV One tonight said "Batten the Hatches", which is not the correct saying.
I think it has something do with ye ould sailors days of the ould, with sailing ships that had hatches to batten down in times of stormy weather.
I know the expression 'It's pissing down' had nothing to do with people urinating or " it's raining cats and dogs" has nothing to do with the shape of water droplets but could of had possible connections with a tornado.
A 'pea-souper' had fog as thick and the colour of pea-soup.
Do castellanus clouds have castle like shapes that have bum features??
....anymore weather sayings.

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Nev]

I think the original term was just 'batten down', which meant using battens (strips of wood) to secure, amongst other things, the edges of the tarpaulins that cover the ship's hatches.

[DT-NZ]

Your just like the weather, changeable, you cant make up your mind as to whether you want to do this or whether you want to do that...

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

Hogs-Back is an interesting name for a Canterbury lenticular cloud, apparently?

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Storm Struck]

Haha great stuff John i agree makes me wonder if some of these sayings are from America, maybe we should have our own Kiwi ones if everyone wasnt so PC.
Bugger Me'' its going to blow a gale, so get Bruce the sheepdog to round em up,Tell the cockie 5km down the road to pull a tarp over his roof, get out of your gummies, put your feet up and open up a nice cold beer < ahhh > good on ya mate.
Cheers
Jason.

[NZ Thunderstorm Soc]

I like the saying "Its blowing like 40 bastards"
Have you ever seen 40 children, who were born out of wedlock, blowing? Maybe farting ... but never blowing??

JohnGaul
NZThS

[Michael]

Fine and milk in the morning. ZBs night time weather.simply read as "Fine or Cloudy"

[Area51]

On asking an "esteemed" Met man a few years ago as to what the weather was likely to bring the following day, a simple response of "If it doesn't change, it will stay the same" summed it up quite nicely!

[Dale]

Up here on the hill.. the term "blow your dog off a chain" im assuming would have aussie origins, but I can vouch for the gully effects here and it would blow the damn chain AND water tank away with it!

Still love my "titty clouds" though.

[sw_windbow]

"If Spring comes in like a lion but goes out like a lamb". Then it will be a long hot summer.

"Its raining cats and dogs" I'm pretty sure comes from Spain or one of the Mediteranean countries where cats and dogs aren't allowed inside but may sleep on the flat traditional roofs. During sudden outbreaks of heavy rain the first things off the roof are the cats and dogs.

[sw_windbow]

Among the more reliable weather proverbs are:

The moon and the weather may change together,
But a change of the moon, will not change the weather.

A ring around the sun or moon, means rain or snow coming soon.

When grass is dry at morning light
Look for rain before the night.

Dew on the grass, rain won't come to pass.

Sea gull, sea gull, sit on the sand,
It's never good weather while you're on the land.

When sea-gulls fly to land, a storm is at hand.

Rain before seven, fine before eleven.
Evening red and morning grey, two sure signs of one fine day.

The sudden storm lasts not three hours
The sharper the blast, the sooner 'tis past.

The higher the clouds the better the weather.

Cold is the night when the stars shine bright.

Sound travelling far and wide, a stormy day betide.

When the forest murmurs and the mountain roars,
Then close your windows and shut your doors.

When leaves show their undersides, be very sure that rain betides.

Chimney smoke descends, our nice weather ends.

When the night goes to bed with a fever, it will awake with a wet head.

When stars shine clear and bright,
We will have a very cold night.

When the ditch and pond offend the nose,
Then look out for rain and stormy blows.

Three days rain will empty any sky.

The farther the sight, the nearer the rain.

Rain long foretold, long last,
Short notice, soon will pass.

The sharper the blast, the sooner 'tis past.

If bees stay at home, rain will soon come,
If they flay away, fine will be the day.

The first and last frosts are the worst.

When clouds look like black smoke a wise man will put on his cloak.

A rainbow afternoon,
Good weather coming soon.

A rainbow in the morning, is the shepherd's warning
A rainbow at night is the shepherd's delight.

When the chairs squeak, it's of rain they speak.

Catchy drawer and sticky door,
Coming rain will pour and pour.

The winds of the daytime wrestle and fight,
Longer and stronger than those of the night.

Dust rising in dry weather is a sign of approaching change.

Sun sets Friday clear as bell,
Rain on Monday sure as hell.

No weather's ill if the wind be still.

The squeak of the snow will the temperature show.

When smoke hovers close to the ground, there will be a weather change.

When down the chimney falls the soot
Mud will soon be underfoot.

When the sun shines while raining,
it will rain the same time again tomorrow.

When the wind blows from the west, fish bite best.
When it blows from the east, fish bite least.

If salt is sticky,
And gains in weight;
It will rain
Before too late.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight;
Red sky in morning, sailor take warning.

When clouds appear like rocks and towers,
The Earth's refreshed by frequent showers.

When the wind is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast.

The more cloud types present, the greater the chance of rain or snow.


Compiled by:

David Phillips
Senior Climatologist
Environment Canada
August, 1997