The sailor notes the tightening of the cordage on his ship as a sign of coming rain.
A lump of hemp acts as a good hygrometer, and prognosticates rain when it is damp.
When walls built of stones which have been quarried below high water mark become damp, wet weather is at hand.
Also, owing to excessive moisture, clouds appear soft and lowering, and reflect the glare of iron-works and the lights of large towns:
The glare of the distant Ayrshire iron-works being seen at night from Cumbræ or Rothsay, rain is expected next day.
In Kinkardine of Monteith (Perthshire) and in all that district the reflections from the clouds of the furnaces of the Devon and Carrow works (to the east) foretell rain next day.
Also:
When the flames of candles flare and snap or burn with an unsteady or dim light, rain, and frequently wind also, are found to follow.
This is especially applicable to oil-lamps or tallow candles.
As the depression approaches and the atmosphere becomes gloomy, close, and muggy, some people are troubled with rheumatic pains and neuralgia, old wounds, and corns are painful, animals and birds are restless, and drains and ditches give out an offensive smell: