Clouds of any sort, when they increase much, portend rain, particularly at eventide; when they are very red they often foreshow wind; when they form a dapple-gray sky, with north wind, fair weather; when they rapidly form and evaporate, variable weather. Clouds, fretted and spotted, covering the sky after fine weather, or wavy, like the undulation of the sea, forbode rain.
Colors, of various kinds in the sky and clouds, tokens severally of different phenomena. Much red always forebodes wind and rain, particularly in the morning; in the evening it sometimes indicates a fine day, particularly if the morning be gray. A proverb says,
An evening red and a morning gray
Will set the traveller on his way;
But an evening gray and a morning red
Will pour down rain on the pilgrim’s head.
A greenish color of the sky near to the horizon, often shows that we may expect more wet weather. The most beautiful and varied tints are seen in autumn, and in that season the purple of the falling leaf is often a sign of a continuation of fine weather.
When the clouds become more colored than ordinary, and particularly when red prevails, it sometimes indicates an east wind.
Cocks, when they crow at unwonted hours, often foretell a change of weather. We have often noticed this before rain. But this is by no means so certain a sign as many others; because, at particular seasons, and in particular kinds of weather, cocks habitually crow all day. During the calm, still, dry, dark, and warm weather sometimes occurring in the winter months, and which may be called the halcyon days of our climate, cocks keep a constant crowing all night and day. There appear to be three principal cock crowings in ordinary weather, namely, about midnight or soon after, about three in the morning, and at daybreak; the latter is never omitted.
We have noticed, however, that when cocks crow all day, in summer particularly, a change to rain has frequently followed.