Predicting Weather In The Wilderness

Smoke From A Fire

· When you have a fire going pay attention to the smoke because this can help you determine what the weather may do. If the smoke looks like it is being pushed down instead of rising that is a good indication that low pressure is on its way and low pressure systems usually bring storms with them. If the smoke rises then it means high pressure is there and you don’t have much to worry about weather wise.   

Dawn Or Dusk Red Sky

· A red sky at either dusk or dawn is a very reliable way to predict the weather. At dusk, a red sky indicates that the next day will probably be a good day. This is due to the sun shining through dust particles being pushed ahead of a high pressure system bringing in dry air. A red sky at dawn often means that an approaching low pressure system is bringing in a lot of moisture in the air. This is a good indication that a storm is approaching. A good way to remember this one is, red sky at night shepherds delight, red sky in the morning shepherds warning.

Large/Small Corona

· The circle that you can sometimes see around the sun or the moon will become larger when weather is to be good and becomes smaller when bad weather is on its way.

Southerly Wind

· This one only applies to the Northern hemisphere, if the wind is strong from the south there is a good chance of storms. A good way to remember this is “Wind from the South head to the house.” For the southern hemisphere it’s the exact opposite.

Cirrocumulus Clouds

·    These are smaller rounded clouds but are in lines, looks like ripples in the sand. These clouds usually mean fair weather.

Altocumulus Clouds

· These too are usually fair weather clouds but are a larger scale of the Cirrocumulus Clouds that are puffier looking and not as white.

Cumulonimbus Clouds

· These clouds are also referred to as a thunder head, they are the dark nasty looking clouds that can grow to enormous heights. This cloud tends to bring heavy rain, hail, strong winds, thunder and lightning.