'Surfing' Sally says, "Here are some signs of weather! When my eyelids get heavy, it's a sure sign of heavy cloud and a rainy weekend, spent in bed with a book and box of chocolates...  Here's another  - when you have trouble sleeping at night and sleep through the alarm the next morning, it's a good sign that it's a rainy day outside. (For me though, that's a normal day!)"

What is Weather Folklore? 

Folklore can be defined as a set of old or traditional beliefs. Weather folklore may be factual or mythical, but is essentially a store of old and sometimes odd beliefs about the weather. Sometimes this folkore is in the form of proverbs which are carried on from generation to generation in many cultures.

Example: When ants go for high ground it means there is going to be rain.      (Clint, from Queensland Australia)

Often, the items of folklore relate to predicting the arrival of certain types of weather by often unrelated observations related to things such as the behaviour of animals.

Each culture/nation has its own folklore and proverbs about its weather. There are a number of sites on the internet where collections of folklore can be located. Everything we have here has been submitted by email from schools involved in our project. Much of it relates to their own local areas and countries. Other items may be from what students have learned about folklore of other countries.  It's fascinating and fun to compare folklore! Please feel free to email your own countriy's folklore items to be included here.