# weather myths



## pup

I recently heard that in Spain, there is a myth that the wind makes you go mad... is this true?

Recientemente, he oido que en Espana, hay un mito que el viento vuelve loco... es verdad?


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## Miguelillo 87

En México tenemos el mito de que si llueve en el día de tu boda, va a ser un matrimonio lleno de lagrimas, o sea sufrimiento.


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## sureño

pup said:


> Recientemente, he oido que en Espana, hay un mito que el viento vuelve loco... es verdad?


He oído a gente por aquí, que dice que el viento norte los vuelve locos. Que cuando sopla viento del norte los pone de mal humor. 
Personalmente siempre me pareció un disparate, es algo que nunca entendí demasiado. A mí nunca un viento podría cambiarme el humor (a menos que sea un huracán; pero en ese caso lo que menos importaría sería su sentido ¿no?)


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## Broccolicious

My Spanish aunt used to tell me that my (bad) singing would make it rain. Given that I was living in Galicia at the time, where it seemed to rain every day, I started to believe her!


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## RIU

Hola, 

Bueno, cuando tienes un viento seco, sostenido, de 90 - 100 km/h durante una semana, con puntas de 120 o 130 no es que te vuelvas loco, pero sí que acabas hasta más abajo de las narices -algo así como medio cuerpo- del vientecillo. Limpio si que queda todo, pero es que si sales a la calle te limpia también a ti. A los crios se les dice -en broma- que salgan con piedras en los bolsillos. Todo un espectáculo. En fin, que hay que vivirlo para entenderlo.

En Catalunya se da en el noreste y en el sudeste quizás con menor intensidad, por la configuración de las montañas, y se le llama *Tramuntana*.

Hice la mili en los monegros (Aragón) y aunque allí le llaman *Cierzo* -si no recuerdo mal- no le tiene nada que envidiar nada a nuestra tramuntana. Que también van servidos en Aragón, vaya.


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## Montesacro

En Italia algunos (por ejemplo mi abuela) dicen que cuando llueve pero el sol sigue siendo visible las brujas se están peinando (_Piove e c’è il sole: si pettinano le streghe_).
No sé por qué


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## Mate

Montesacro said:


> En Italia algunos (por ejemplo mi abuela) dicen que cuando llueve pero el sol sigue siendo visible las brujas se están peinando (_Piove e c’è il sole: si pettinano le streghe_).
> No sé por qué


En el interior de la Argentina tenemos un mito parecido, sobre todo en el sinsentido: dicen que cuando llueve con sol, se casa la hija del diablo.

Volviendo a la pregunta original, hay algo que siempre se oye en el campo y no es un mito; yo mismo he podido comprobarlo más de una vez: cuando sopla viento del Norte los caballos enloquecen.


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## ewie

There's an ancient myth in the UK whereby when cows lie down it's going to rain. If this were indeed the case, British cows would need _springs_ instead of legs.
_Existe en el Reino Unido un mito vetusto según el que cuando las vacas se tumban va a llover. (Pero véase 'Galicia' en el #4)._


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## mirx

RIU said:


> Hola,
> 
> Bueno, cuando tienes un viento seco, sostenido, de 90 - 100 km/h durante una semana, con puntas de 120 o 130 no es que te vuelvas loco, pero sí que acabas hasta más abajo de las narices -algo así como medio cuerpo- del vientecillo. Limpio si que queda todo, pero es que si sales a la calle te limpia también a ti. A los crios se les dice -en broma- que salgan con piedras en los bolsillos. Todo un espectáculo. En fin, que hay que vivirlo para entenderlo.


 
Ni digas más que estás describiendo mi pueblo en México, y espérate que el viento es tan fuerte que trae polvo de las terracerías cercanas. Antes de llegar al pueblo se ve una nube de polvo justo arribe de él. No es que le viento automáticamente vuelva loco a uno, sino la forma en que se empeña en arruinarte el dia.

Esto sucede más que nada en Febrero y Marzo y hay un dicho que vas. "Febrero loco y Marzo otro poco".



Mateamargo said:


> Volviendo a la pregunta original, hay algo que siempre se oye en el campo y no es un mito; yo mismo he podido comprobarlo más de una vez: cuando sopla viento del Norte los caballos enloquecen.


 
A ver, ¿Cómo está esto?


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## Mate

No sé bien el motivo, pero con viento Norte, los caballos primero se inquietan y luego comienzan a correr como locos. 

Si logras ensillar uno, se te hace difícil dominarlo;  aún los más mansos se tornan desobedientes.

Pero luego de esta digresión, retomemos el tema original del hilo. 

Según yo lo entiendo, tiene más que ver con mitos, vientos y gente que con animales.


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## wildan1

My grandfather used to say that when you saw the rain falling at a distance when it was illuminated by the sun, you really were seeing souls of the dead rising to heaven. It was a powerful thought to impress on a kid--I always remember that when I see rain falling that way.


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## ewie

There's another ancient myth, very well-known in the UK, that if it rains on St.Swithin's Day (15th July: _not_ an unusual occurrence in this country), it will rain for another 40 days.
_Existe otro mito vetusto, muy bien conocido en el Reino Unido, que afirma que si llueve el día de San Swithin (15 de julio, sí se ocurre en este país) seguirán 40 días más de lluvia._

*MORE/MÁS* (in English / en inglés)


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## chics

¡Hola!

Pup, me gustaría aclararte que por supuesto no tememos al viento, ni nos quedamos en casa bajo la cama para protegernos de él, cuando sopla, por miedo a que si nos despeina perderemos todo uso de razón. Lo que pasa es que sí excusamos, al menos en Cataluña, las pequeñas manías o excentricidades que puedan tener las personas que viven siempre bajo las condiciones que tan bien a descrito RIU, porque "seguro que les afecta a la cabeza". 

También, en las zonas en las que suele hacer _buen tiempo_ (para nosotros, eso son días soleados), el hecho de que varios días seguidos llueva o esté cubierto nos entristece y nos pone de mala leche. Recuerdo un anuncio de compresas que definía muy bien un inicio de día perfecto : he engordado un kilo, me ha venido la regla y llueve. Mal humor asegurado para todo el día.
Esto nos hace creer que el tiempo afecta a todos por igual y, así, cuando nos encontramos con un londinense cabrón, por ejemplo, le compacedemos, "pobre, es que como quieres que sea la gente ahí, con niebla y lluvia contínuamente".

En cuanto a las bodas, aquí se dice que "novia mojada, novia afortunada". Y lo de _mojada_ se refiere a la lluvia. O sea, que si llueve en tu boda te trae suerte. Pero eso es sólo un intento de consolar a los pobres novios puteados por la lluvia el día de su fiesta... prueba de ello es que todas las novias regalan huevos a Santa Clara para que no llueva el día de su boda ¿es que no quieren ser _afortunadas_? .

Luego hay un montón de dichos y refanes en torno al tiempo, como en tantas culturas y lenguas...

Saludos.


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## Montesacro

chics said:


> En cuanto a las bodas, aquí se dice que "novia mojada, novia afortunada". Y lo de _mojada_ se refiere a la lluvia.


 
En Italia también:
_sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata_.


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## Broccolicious

chics said:


> Esto nos hace creer que el tiempo afecta a todos por igual y, así, cuando nos encontramos con un londinense cabrón, por ejemplo, le compacedemos, "pobre, es que como quieres que sea la gente ahí, con niebla y lluvia contínuamente".


 
Although some of us in London (not the _cabrones,_ I guess!) take advantage of the bad weather to practise our Gene Kelly impressions!

As the weather's so changeable here, we say "Rain before eleven [o'clock], sun by seven." Or the other way around. Or both!

Broc (dying of heat after a week of unbroken sunshine - where's my beloved rain?!)


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## chics

Aclaro que no decía que todos los ingleses sean cabrones, sólo que si un tipo tiende a estar de mala leche, en España se suele "comprender" más si el pobre vive en un sitio típicamente frío y lluvioso que si es del trópico, por ejemplo. Es injusto y no se razona abiertamente, pero hablamos de _myths_ ¿verdad?

Mis amigos de Lleida (que viven fuera de su ciudad) se emocionan y alegran cuando hay niebla, pero los pobres no suelen poder usar el tiempo de su ciudad como excusa...


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## Topsie

Here in Provence we have a famous wind called the "Mistral" which supposedly blows for 3,6 or 9 consecutive days... I'm not sure if there's a scientific reason for this, but it always seems to be true!


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## sureño

Well, it’s said that in countries with very much obscurity, the rate of suicides is higher than in those where the sun shines a lot. 
I don’t know whether it’s true or just a myth.


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## bibliolept

Well, there's obviously groundhog day. And the superstition that lightning won't hit the same spot twice.

In some Latin American countries, when it's sunny and raining at the same time, the story is that the Virgin Mary is taking a bath... makes me wonder whether this is the same in other Catholic countries or whether this particular story has its origin in some native American culture's myths.


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## dudasd

If it's raining and the sun is shining at the same time, a witch is born somewhere.
Lightning won't strike nettle.
Košava (strong eastern wind coming through the valley of the river Danube) blows 1, 3 or 7 days.
On Candlemass day (February 15th by Eastern calender): if the female bear leaves her den and sees her own shadow, she will go back for six more weeks. (That is: if the weather is sunny, the winter is going to last.)
Days between Christmas and Epiphany show what the weather will be like in the following months. (So the first day foretells January, the second foretells February etc.)


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## Trisia

Broccolicious said:


> My Spanish aunt used to tell me that my (bad) singing would make it rain. Given that I was living in Galicia at the time, where it seemed to rain every day, I started to believe her!



I always wondered if the story in Asterix (_Assurancetourix _the tone deaf bard and the way he would bring rain by singing off key) was based on an actual legend. Maybe there's more to what your aunt was saying than just a joke 


Over here, we have plenty of weather-related superstitions. A well-known one is that when animals are restless and agitated, the weather would worsen soon (I guess they feel the changes sooner than we do, but they don't make them happen ). It makes for a very insulting remark: when people argue, they're told to stop it because they're bringing storms about.


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## mirx

dudasd said:


> If it's raining and the sun is shining at the same time, a witch is born somewhere.
> Lightning won't strike nettle.
> Košava (strong eastern wind coming through the valley of the river Danube) blows 1, 3 or 7 days.
> On Candlemass day (February 15th by Eastern calender): if the female bear leaves her den and sees her own shadow, she will go back for six more weeks. (That is: if the weather is sunny, the winter is going to last.)
> Days between Christmas and Epiphany show what the weather will be like in the following months. (So the first day foretells January, the second foretells February etc.)


 

Esto me recuerda que en México existen las cabañuelas, durante todo el mes de enero se pronóstica como va a ser el tiempo el resto del año.

1 of January: Forcasts the weather for January
2 of January: Forcasts the weather for February and so on..

The 13th of January tells the weather for December and then we start a count-down so the 24th tells the weather for January again.

When it rains with sunshine someone's dying somewhere (isn't someone always dying somewhere?) and a baby deer is being born.


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## Nanon

There is a French saying: "Soleil de mars rend fou" (in March, the sun drives you crazy).
It is probably a myth, because even if you have lost the habit of sun exposure at the end of winter, the sun doesn't shine so bright  in most parts of France in March!...


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## vince

In Canada, on February 5, if the town groundhog sees its shadow then winter will last for five more weeks. If it doesn't, then winter will end soon. As far as I know, this is a distinct Canadian tradition, not observed in any other culture.


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## tenseconds

vince said:


> In Canada, on February 5, if the town groundhog sees its shadow then winter will last for five more weeks. If it doesn't, then winter will end soon. As far as I know, this is a distinct Canadian tradition, not observed in any other culture.


 
Actually, this is exactly the same as in the United States, except there Groundhog's Day is on Feb. 2.


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## Forero

I have heard that the Groundhog's Day myth was brought to Pennsylvania by Germans who transferred the purported abilities of the badger back home to the American woodchuck (groundhog).  February 2 is midway between the December solstice and the March equinox.  The six weeks in question ends with the March equinox, the traditional beginning of Spring.

_If March comes in like/as a lamb, it will go out like/as a lion, and vice versa._  [March weather is notoriously variable]

_Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight._  [Clouds in the west will probably come toward you; clouds in the east have already past.]

There is some myth about a "ring around the moon", but I don't recall what it says.

Some people believe the particular terrain of where they live will protect them from tornados.  For example, that a tornado will strike a particular side of a hill and then "jump over".  Unfortunately tornados don't follow our rules.


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## Topsie

Forero said:


> _...Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight._  [Clouds in the west will probably come toward you; clouds in the east have already past.]....


I'm sure sailors have plenty of weather-related sayings! Another one I know is "Mackerel skies and mare's tails make lofty ships carry low sails"!


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## Chaska Ñawi

> Originally Posted by vince
> In Canada, on February 5, if the town groundhog sees its shadow then winter will last for five more weeks. If it doesn't, then winter will end soon. As far as I know, this is a distinct Canadian tradition, not observed in any other culture.





tenseconds said:


> Actually, this is exactly the same as in the United States, except there Groundhog's Day is on Feb. 2.



Not only is Groundhog Day on February 2nd; but if the groundhog sees its shadow, winter lasts _six _more weeks, not five.  Since we'd have been lucky to have only six weeks of winter, as opposed to eight or nine, we never paid much attention to the groundhog.  Now, with global warming, Wiarton Willy's predictions are a little more probable.

There are all sorts of Canadian weather predictions involving animals, but it's difficult to avoid them turning into a list.  I'll limit myself to a very few predictions, not all of them animal-related: it will rain if a dog eats grass and then throws it up; if the robin sings "Cheer up!" over and over again; if a woodlouse curls into a ball if you disturb it; if the sunrise is particularly red; if there is a ring around the moon; or if there are sundogs in the sky in the afternoon.  The sunrise, moonring and sundogs are actually quite good predictors, so they don't really count as weather myths.

As for the rain actually stopping, my great aunts in England all used to say that it would clear up if there were enough blue in the sky "to make a pair of Dutchman's breeches".


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## Broccolicious

Chaska Ñawi said:


> or if there are sundogs in the sky in the afternoon.


 
Erm... what's a sundog, please?



Chaska Ñawi said:


> As for the rain actually stopping, my great aunts in England all used to say that it would clear up if there were enough blue in the sky "to make a pair of Dutchman's breeches".


 
Oh yes! My grandmother used to ask if there was enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers!


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## Forero

Broccolicious said:


> Erm... what's a sundog, please?


A sun dog is a copy (or follower) of the sun, usually at 22 degrees from the real sun.  Like a rainbow (from liquid water), it indicates water (usually hexagonal ice crystals) in the atmosphere other than water vapor.  As Chaska Ñawi said, such indications of weather to the west are good predictors of weather to come, so sayings about "red sky", "sun dogs", "rainbows", "ring around the moon", etc., in the west do not really qualify as myths.

The version of the Groundhog Day saying I have heard is actually true too, but rather vacuously: If the Groundhog sees his shadow, we will have six more (long) weeks of winter; if he doesn't, then Spring is "just around the corner" (to me that means about six [short] weeks away).


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## Adolfo Afogutu

pup said:


> I recently heard that in Spain, there is a myth that the wind makes you go mad... is this true?
> 
> Recientemente, he oido que en Espana, hay un mito que el viento vuelve loco... es verdad?



El mataburro explica que una persona aventada es alguien que procede sin reflexión.

En “Feng Shui”, feng significa viento y shui, agua; y, según explica un sitio australiano que detalla el significado de ciertos nombres chinos, bajo el subtítulo de “Asian Villain Names”, “Feng”  significa “mad”; ¡qué lo confirme algún forero chino, por favor! 

No creo que sean casualidades: se afirma que el viento cálido, al producir cambios importantes en la temperatura,  produce estrés térmico: aumenta la frecuencia cardiaca y el ritmo respiratorio, y sí, te pone de un humor espantoso, reduce la capacidad mental, no te concentras, disminuyen tus reflejos y parece ser que hay más accidentes de tráfico.

Yo soy un lego total y absoluto, pero, al ver que, en un sitio de psicoterapeutas catalanes, ofrecen bajar un libro que se llama: “La metodología de la investigación en biometeorología psiquiátrica”, imagino que esto del viento, de mito, debe de tener muy poco. 

Aporto algunos dichos camperos,  a propósito del clima:

“Norte duro, Pampero seguro”
“Viento del este, agua como peste”
“Norte claro, sur oscuro, aguacero seguro”
“Cielo empedrado, suelo mojado”
“Animales perezosos, tiempo tormentoso”

Cordial saludo.

A.A.


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## Noel Acevedo

dudasd said:


> If it's raining and the sun is shining at the same time, a witch is born somewhere.
> Lightning won't strike nettle.
> Košava (strong eastern wind coming through the valley of the river Danube) blows 1, 3 or 7 days.
> On Candlemass day (February 15th by Eastern calender): if the female bear leaves her den and sees her own shadow, she will go back for six more weeks. (That is: if the weather is sunny, the winter is going to last.)
> Days between Christmas and Epiphany show what the weather will be like in the following months. (So the first day foretells January, the second foretells February etc.)


 
Now that's interesting. In Puerto Rico  the custom is to check the weather the first 12 days of the year, each day corresponding to one of the 12 months of the year.  If it rains on Janaury 1st, Janauary will be a wet month, and so one.  If it rains with the sun out, the witches are dancing.

Noel


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## Hakro

Adolfo Afogutu said:


> “Norte duro, Pampero seguro”
> “Viento del este, agua como peste”
> “Norte claro, sur oscuro, aguacero seguro”
> “Cielo empedrado, suelo mojado”
> “Animales perezosos, tiempo tormentoso”.


This made me think of a similar poem in Finnish (southwestern dialect):
_"Ku lännest klaara, ei ol satte vaara"_ (When the sky is clearing in the west, there's no risk of rain).

There are hundreds of similar weather forecasting phrases that are not myths but rather facts. Of course there are myths, too:

"If a cat eats hay, it's going to rain."

Then there is a myth about Finnish sailors in the sailing vessels time: Finns were very appreciated sailors as they had a magic ability to call for wind in the calm; a Finnish sailor scratched the mast with his fingernails and spoke the strange words of his own language, and before long a good wind came to push the ship forward.


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## Chaska Ñawi

My grandfather used to relate weather to fishing:

When the wind is in the east,
Tis time for neither man nor beast.
When the wind is from the south,
It blows the bait to the fish's mouth.
When the wind is from the north,
then neither man nor fish go forth.
When the wind is from the west,
That's the time the fish like best.


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## Lugubert

When children made funny faces or otherwise behaved unseemingly, my paternal grandma would warn them "The wind might turn, making you stay that way."

Children often pick up ladybirds/ladybugs when available, and chant to them that if they fly away, tomorrow´s weather wil be fine.


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## Chaska Ñawi

Oh, yes, so many are coming back to me now .... people used to believe that it would rain if you killed a spider.  (My grandmother's generation also believed that if a spider walked on you, it meant that you'd get a new dress.)

Many people here still believe that wide bands on a woolly bear caterpillar signify a hard winter to come (actually the bands get wider as the caterpillar ages).  Another common belief is that northern lights in the autumn fortell an Indian summer and a mild winter; northern lights in the spring fortell a long winter and a chilly spring.


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## Lugubert

Chaska Ñawi said:


> Oh, yes, so many are coming back to me now .... people used to believe that it would rain if you killed a spider.


Sweden, too.


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## katie_here

ewie said:


> There's an ancient myth in the UK whereby when cows lie down it's going to rain. If this were indeed the case, British cows would need _springs_ instead of legs.
> _Existe en el Reino Unido un mito vetusto según el que cuando las vacas se tumban va a llover. (Pero véase 'Galicia' en el #4)._


 
Have you ever heard of the theory that if cows lie down, which they do, its to keep the grass dry for after the rain. 


On another note,  we say that if you are pulling a strange face, grimacing, or something similar, that if the wind changes direction, your face will stay that way.


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## aparis2

ewie said:


> There's an ancient myth in the UK whereby when cows lie down it's going to rain. If this were indeed the case, British cows would need _springs_ instead of legs.
> _Existe en el Reino Unido un mito vetusto según el que cuando las vacas se tumban va a llover. (Pero véase 'Galicia' en el #4)._


This myth also exists in the United States, at least in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Este mito también existe en los Estados Unidos, o por lo menos en la región del Atlántico Medio.


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## Vanest

In Ecuador, when it rains and there is sun at the same time, the saying is "Se casa el diablo con la bruja" (the devil is marrying the witch), or, another variation is “se casa el diablo con la diabla (the devil is marrying the she-devil). It’s interesting how this meteorological event means different things all over the world, but many of these myths seem to have to do with witches or the devil.

Another whether related saying we have is “abril, aguas mil; mayo, hasta que se pudra el sayo”. This means “in April, a thousand showers; in May, until your smock rots”. This usually proves to be true, because April and May are the months of the year when it rains the most in Ecuador. 

Yet another myth is the ‘Cordonazo de San Francisco’. October 4 is the day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron Saint of Quito, Ecuador. Supposedly, on October fourth, we have Saint Francis’ Cordonazo (cord whipping). This is a heavy rainfall accompanied by a thunder and hailstorm that almost always happens on or around October fourth. Apparently, the origin of the myth is that when the devil would come to strike Saint Francis, the Saint would get rid of the devil by whipping the air with his cord. When he did this, a huge thunder and hailstorm was created and this would frighten the devil away.


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## Sepia

dudasd said:


> If it's raining and the sun is shining at the same time, a witch is born somewhere.
> ...


 
A witch in a negative sense or simply a woman (or man?) that can do magic?


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## Miguel Antonio

dudasd said:


> If it's raining and the sun is shining at the same time, a witch is born somewhere.
> On Candlemass day (February 15th by Eastern calender): if the female bear leaves her den and sees her own shadow, she will go back for six more weeks. (That is: if the weather is sunny, the winter is going to last.)
> Days between Christmas and Epiphany show what the weather will be like in the following months. (So the first day foretells January, the second foretells February etc.)


In Galicia, when it rains and the sun is shining at the same time, there is a saying that the witches are combing their hair.
Another saying goes: _se chove e fai sol, anda o demo no Ferrol_, i.e., if it is raining and sunny at the same time, the devil is loose around the town of Ferrol. This one rhymes, and some people think it started as a pun from the fact that Ferrol is Franco's birthplace.

About Candlemass (February 2nd): _Se a Candelaria chora, o inverno vai fóra, se a Candelaria ri, o inverno está por vir: _for the sake of rhyme, rain is equated to tears and would imply the end of winter soon, fair weather is equated to laughter signifying that winter is here to stay. But, the saying ends thus: _Ría ou chor_e,_ chore ou volva rir, medio inverno vai fóra e medio está por vir:_ i.e. regardless of one or the other, half of winter is gone and half is yet to come, as Candlemass lies half-way betwen the winter solstice and the vernal equinox.

The weather on each of the first twelve days of the year is also said to predict the weather for the relevant month (January 1 for January, January 2 for February, and so forth)

One more:
_Lúa nova treboada, un mes mollada: _thunder with a new moon means one month of rain will follow.

And yes, it rains a lot in Galicia. Folk myth has it that on the seventh day of Creation, God rested His hand on the coast of Galicia and the imprint He left became the Rías Baixas http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FR%25C3%25ADas_Baixas&ei=71lTSv_pL42AswOUtemDBw&usg=AFQjCNF_Xx5PJKOWjSvQy6pT-9WKrJpZgA&sig2=-2MDRpDShWOAplwxN_-M-A (which are not rivers, estuaries or creeks as they are sometimes misleadingly translated to), and an emerald on a ring He wore gave its colour to the land, so He decreed eternal rain to keep the land that colour (if I am not mistaken, there is a similar Irish legend).

However, as many a myth, it is probably not true, because we also enjoy the sunshine in the Rías Baixas, and according to The Guardian, the nicest beach in the world http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...TRG-UjBet8mEIQ-VQ&sig2=IdwpNjIDixWGIZzSIFJscA .


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## catlady60

In New York, when I was a kid, my parents always told me that when there was a thunderstorm, the angels were bowling.  When lightning hit the ground and the thunder was loud, my mom would yell, *STRIKE!!!*


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## elirlandes

Of course, it is the truth, and not a myth... that in Ireland, lepracháns live at the bottom of the rainbow guarding their pots of gold. Following the rainbow is the only way you will find their pot of gold, and if you do find them, they are obliged  to let you keep the gold.
I have been trying for years, but never seem to get to the end of the rainbow...


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## Ibermanolo

pup said:


> Recientemente, he oido que en Espana, hay un mito que el viento vuelve loco... es verdad?


 
Yo lo he oído también, especialmente en Cádiz cuando sopla el levante que es un viento persistente (5-7 días) y muy desagradable.


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## birus

Well, back to the original "weather myth" posted, here in Toulouse there is a specific wind that blows quite often, "le vent d'Autan", and this wind is told to make people go mad.
Actually a colleague of mine, who lives in the country and is more exposed to it in his house, always complains about that wind as soon as it rises, accusing it of giving headache, bad sleep and several other "diseases".


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## DearPrudence

Miguelillo 87 said:


> En México tenemos el mito de que si llueve en el día de tu boda, va a ser un matrimonio lleno de lagrimas, o sea sufrimiento.


In France, it's the opposite:
*"Mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux*."
"Rainy wedding, happy marriage"

(I don't know if it's really a weather myth, but French people say it's always raining in Normandy  This always hurts :'()


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## Ibermanolo

DearPrudence said:


> In France, it's the opposite:
> *"Mariage pluvieux, mariage heureux*."
> "Rainy wedding, happy marriage"
> 
> (I don't know if it's really a weather myth, but French people say it's always raining in Normandy  This always hurts :'()


 
Also in Spain: boda lluviosa, boda dichosa.


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## federicoft

And in Italian: _sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata_.


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## SaritaSarang

Where I live the myth is that when the cows all lay down in the pasture it's going to rain.


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## Hacha

chics said:


> En cuanto a las bodas, aquí se dice que "novia mojada, novia afortunada".



My grandma always said that, if a man married in spring, he wanted a wife, but if he married in winter, he wanted a servant.



dudasd said:


> Days between Christmas and Epiphany show what the weather will be like in the following months. (So the first day foretells January, the second foretells February etc.)



I've just read that in other parts of Spain the myth goes like that, and I'm astonished, because in Extremadura, it's just the opposite! August the first is "el juicio del año" (the year's judgment) and the twelve following days are "las canículas": their weather tells you what time next year's months will have (August the second for January, August the third for February, and so on).

And I remember fondly a story my grandpa told me when I was little: 
"On the first day of the year, the clouds and Saint Peter met in Sierra Morena to decide which cloud would give rain to which part of Spain, and so Saint Peter started to tell the clouds: 
"You will go to Galicia, and you, to Castilla La Vieja, and you, to Canarias..."
And soon, all the clouds parted, after arranging to meet when the year was almost over at the same place, to see how everyone had been doing.
When they met again, Saint Peter asked the clouds where each one had been, and if everything had gone well. After the clouds finished telling him, he asked:
"But... did no one of you go to Extremadura?"
After a bit of thought and asking, it was clear that no clouds had been to Extremadura that year, and so Saint Peter decided:
"Okay, now, off to Extremadura you all go!" ("Pues ahora, ¡todas a Extremadura!")

And that's why that, when in the rest of Spain it's raining, it doesn't fall a single drop in Extremadura, but when in the rest of Spain is sunny and nice, here we have huge and long, long storms."

I always loved that tale 

Cheers!


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## RIU

Hacha said:


> My grandma always said that, if a man married in spring, he wanted a wife, but if he married in winter, he wanted a servant.


 
Why?


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## Hacha

I guess it's because in spring it's all more beautiful and romantic, and he would be thinking about her and how he loves her, while marrying in winter gives the impression that he just wants to get all the procedures done as quickly and cheaply possibly, so he can go and have a wife who cooks and cleans for him.

Cheers!


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## PACOALADROQUE

Ibermanolo said:


> Yo lo he oído también, especialmente en Cádiz cuando sopla el levante que es un viento persistente (5-7 días) y muy desagradable.


 Lo afirmo, el viento de levante suele provocar hasta dolor de cabeza que te dura mientras sopla el viento.

Saludos


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## xicamanela89

chics said:


> ¡Hola!
> 
> 
> En cuanto a las bodas, aquí se dice que "novia mojada, novia afortunada". Y lo de _mojada_ se refiere a la lluvia. O sea, que si llueve en tu boda te trae suerte.


 

À semelhança do que disseram chics e outros, em Portugal também usamos uma variante dessa expressão: "Boda molhada, boda abençoada". 

E já que falamos em casamentos (bodas) e ventos, também é corrente dizer, quando por algum motivo queremos criticar a Espanha ou os espanhóis, dizemos em forma de gozo "De Espanha, nem bom vento nem bom casamento" 


Just like chiks and others said, in Portugal we also use a similar form: "wet wedding, blessed wedding".

When, for some reason we want to criticise Spain or spanish people, we say, to joke around "From Spain, neither good wind nor good wedding"


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## Ruize

I believed this when I was a kid: When it rained, I was told (and really believed) that we shouldn't touch our hair or anything made of iron because lightning could hit us. 

Oh, and my favorite one: 
*
!No te mires en el espejo porque te va a caer un rayo!* (Don't look at the mirror because lightning is gonna hit you!)

So, yeah, thunderstorms were a little bit scary.


Not anymore.


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## GalileoGalilei

An AE classic - "Earthquake weather" - gray, calm, warm, quiet.


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## manicha

En Galicia hay una frase que dice "gaivotas na terra, mariñeiros á merda" (seagulls to land, sailors to "shit"). Significa que si las gaviotas dejan de volar sobre el mar para venir a tierra, en breve comenzará a llover. Y es verdad, las gaviotas parecen anticipar el mal tiempo antes que las personas. Relacionado con ese, está "cielo empedrado, suelo mojado". Cuando el cielo se pone con nubes que parecen un enlosado de piedra, no tardará en llover. 

Otros refranes relacionados con la meteorología son "marzo ventoso y abril lluvioso hacen a mayo florido y hermoso" (windy March and rainy April, makes 
May beautiful and full of flowers), y también "Si marzo mayea, mayo marcea" (when the weather in March is as it should be in May, then in May it will be the other way round).

Estos dos últimos no sé si se pueden considerar o no mitos, pero los dos primeros están más que comprobados.


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## koniecswiata

In Chile, earthquake weather is believed to be rather warm and sunny--at least in Santiago.  This as opposed to the US/California where earthquake weather is calm and gray.
By the way, suicide rates supposedly do go up when strong winds blow.  Supposedly, during the Föhn winds in Southern Germany suicides go up during these winds.  It actually seems a bit logical to me that really strong wind could drive some people mad--all the howling, etc...


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## grubble

pup said:


> I recently heard that in Spain, there is a myth that the wind makes you go mad... is this true?
> 
> Recientemente, he oido que en Espana, hay un mito que el viento vuelve loco... es verdad?


My ex-wife who was a school teacher told me that it was common knowledge amongst teachers that children behave much worse on windy days.


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## PACOALADROQUE

Ibermanolo said:


> Yo lo he oído también, especialmente en Cádiz cuando sopla el levante que es un viento persistente (5-7 días) y muy desagradable.



Doy fe.

Saludos


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## Iratxo

Miguelillo 87 said:


> En México tenemos el mito de que si llueve en el día de tu boda, va a ser un matrimonio lleno de lagrimas, o sea sufrimiento.



Es curioso, en España hay un refrán que dice justo lo contrario: novia mojada, novia afortunada. Como que si te llueve el día de tu boda, no tendrás nada peor que eso en el matrimonio.


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## Minnie121728

Miguelillo 87 said:


> En México tenemos el mito de que si llueve en el día de tu boda, va a ser un matrimonio lleno de lagrimas, o sea sufrimiento.


 jajajaj, aca en Rep. Dominicana, cuando eso ocurre, se dice que la novia es bruja!!!


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## ampurdan

RIU said:


> En Catalunya se da en el noreste y en el sudeste quizás con menor intensidad, por la configuración de las montañas, y se le llama *Tramuntana*.



"Ben tocat per la tramuntana" as the song goes, which means something like "driven crazy by the north wind", and rumor has it that we owe Dalí's genius to this tiresome wind.


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## Ushuaia

Montesacro said:


> En Italia algunos (por ejemplo mi abuela) dicen que cuando llueve pero el sol sigue siendo visible las brujas se están peinando (_Piove e c’è il sole: si pettinano le streghe_).
> No sé por qué



Otro comentario habitual en Argentina en estos casos: "lluvia con sol, se casa una vieja". Andá a saber.

Hablando de mitos, en Ushuaia existe el mito de que si hace calor, va a haber un terremoto. Parece que en diciembre del 49 hubo varios días cálidos; el 17 de ese mes se registró un terremoto bastante importante.... y nació el mito. Claro que se trata de una zona altamente sísmica, pero hasta donde se sabe, el clima poco tiene que ver con los movimientos telúricos.


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## Minnie121728

Ushuaia said:


> Otro comentario habitual en Argentina en estos casos: "lluvia con sol, se casa una vieja". Andá a saber.Hablando de mitos, en Ushuaia existe el mito de que si hace calor, va a haber un terremoto. Parece que en diciembre del 49 hubo varios días cálidos; el 17 de ese mes se registró un terremoto bastante importante.... y nació el mito. Claro que se trata de una zona altamente sísmica, pero hasta donde se sabe, el clima poco tiene que ver con los movimientos telúricos.


 Tendra algo que ver...siempre he escuchado por aca desde niña, (Rep. Dominicana), a la gente comentar, "que esta haciendo mucho calor, que va a temblar la Tierra"....


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## Explorer41

Well, most of us (if not all) know that myth as though the warm and sunny weather were good, and the fresh, cloudy and rainy weather were bad. In fact, that myth is very, very far from telling truth!


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## gvozd

Explorer41 said:


> Well, most of us (if not all) know that myth as though the warm and sunny weather were good, and the fresh, cloudy and rainy weather were bad. In fact, that myth is very, very far from telling truth!



What do you mean by this? Is my opinion of the weather always a prejudice?


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## Explorer41

gvozd said:


> What do you mean by this? Is my opinion of the weather always a prejudice?


Yes, it is. As well as mine.
There is no good or bad in the nature itself. A human is a creator of the good and the bad in his mind. And as for weathers... Opinions differ. For example, I love the rainy weather; and I know many don't.
Well, I'm not willing to turn the thread into the war of likes and dislikes, of course


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## gvozd

Explorer41 said:


> For example, I love the rainy weather



This is because you live in Saint-Petersburg. Dostoyevskiy in his "A raw youth" wrote that nasty wind of Saint-Petersburg can make sick even an elephant.


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## Explorer41

Forero said:


> _Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight._  [Clouds in the west will probably come toward you; clouds in the east have already past.]


In Russia too: "Солнце красно поутру -- моряку сулит тоску; солнце красно ввечеру -- моряку бояться нечего" (but I don't know what it really means)
Also: "Если солнце село в тучу -- жди, моряк, большую бучу" (if the sun set in clouds, sailor, await a gale)


gvozd said:


> This is because you live in Saint-Petersburg. Dostoyevskiy in his "A raw youth" wrote that nasty wind of Saint-Petersburg can make sick even an elephant.


There are many people in St Petersburg who don't like rains! (and there are some who do).
As for Dostoyevskiy, sometimes meseems he didn't like anything in St. Petersburg -- including its very hot and dry summers above 30ºC (which I hate too). So it depends...


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## Vanest

Vanest said:


> In Ecuador, when it rains and there is sun at the same time, the saying is "Se casa el diablo con la bruja" (the devil is marrying the witch), or, another variation is “se casa el diablo con la diabla (the devil is marrying the she-devil). It’s interesting how this meteorological event means different things all over the world, but many of these myths seem to have to do with witches or the devil.



I just found this interesting link about this weather myth, and it also has to do with the devil! http://www.businessinsider.com/22-m...y-alabama-and-mississippi-that-is-terrible-19


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## Encolpius

It's an extremely interesting link, because the same idiom "*the devil is beating his wife*" exists in Hungarian, but I cannot find on the map where that idiom is used in the USA.


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## macame

En este artículo explican cómo influyen los cambios meteorológicos en la salud: http://www.observatoriometeorologicounam.com/articulos/Viento_y_salud.pdf


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## germanbz

It exists one expression in some areas of Spains that says: "_le ha dado *un siroco*_". Sometimes is used in situations when somebody has a behaviour as they have suddenly became crazy or when have a weird or completely innapropiate reaction. That comes of the wind known as "siroco/jaloque" that in Spain comes directly from Sahara as a extremly dry and hot air and can cause some conduct disorders, as well as other well known wind in the east coast of Spain known as "*poniente*". In fact as far as I know, in Switzerland "föehn effect" that are characterised by these kind of dry and strong winds is (or was) an attenuating in some crimes.


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## ancalimon

In old Turkic culture, cutting down trees was seen as a disrespectful thing. For example, the shamans made their drums from the trees that were struck with lightning. I remember one telling me a story about a shaman that actually learned how to control weather in order to find a tree that was struck with lightning. (thus the drum was the goal but a mediator towards becoming a shaman)

There is also the myth, semi-myth about the jade stone (yada). There were certain yada stones that were used to control weather according to this myth.


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## Mackinder

Another myth: "Don't get inside pool while it's raining because lightning will get you!"


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## Packard

When I was young cold weather did not bother me.  In 40 degree Fahrenheit cold I would go out without a jacket.  My mother always said, "It's cold outside.  You are going to get sick."  I responded by saying, "You get sick from germs, not from cold weather."

I still believe that is true even though I seem to need a coat more often nowadays.


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## jsvillar

As they said before, in the Gibraltar Strait blows a very hot and strong wind called 'levante'. It is very dry so it gives headaches. The mith says that in the town of Tarifa (a paradise for surfers, because of that wind) people are crazy. There is even a word 'tarifar' or 'salir tarifando' that means to get crazy.

As for other sayings, there is one very nice but not very polite: 'cuando el grajo vuela bajo, hace un frío del carajo', which means 'when the rook flies low, it is fucking cold'.


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## Xamayca

Broccolicious said:


> My Spanish aunt used to tell me that my (bad) singing would make it rain. Given that I was living in Galicia at the time, where it seemed to rain every day, I started to believe her!


Wow! We have that same myth in my country!
If it rains while the sun's shining, we say Satan and his wife are fighting.


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## Linnets

In Italian: _terzo aprilante quaranta dì durante_ (if it rains the third of April it will be raining for forty days).


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## Welsh_Sion

Why the 3 April, @Linnets?

Are you familiar with the British St Swithun's Day?  15 July.

Swithun - Wikipedia


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## Linnets

Welsh_Sion said:


> Why the 3 April


I think it has to do to the fact that usually, in Italy, April is considered a rainy month (_aprile ogni goccia un barile_, _l'acqua d'aprile fa rimbellire_ and so on).



Welsh_Sion said:


> Are you familiar with the British St Swithun's Day?  15 July.


I must confess I didn't know, but in Italy it would be impossible since in most part of the country, July is, by far, the driest month.


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## Welsh_Sion

Ah .. the English have their 'April Showers;, too!

Whereas in Wales, the rain is warmer in summer than in winter ...


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## Linnets

Welsh_Sion said:


> Whereas in Wales, the rain is warmer in summer than in winter


Here too (well, when it does rain...) but usually also dirty because it usually comes with sirocco and brings sand form the Sahara desert (it turns your car windows yellow). If it happens in winter (rarer) you'll even get yellow snow (especially on the mountains).


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## apmoy70

koniecswiata said:


> In Chile, earthquake weather is believed to be rather warm and sunny--at least in Santiago.


In Greece too, earthquake weather is warm and sunny, especially if the weather is unusually warm in Autumn, or early Spring


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## Linnets

Mackinder said:


> Another myth: "Don't get inside pool while it's raining because lightning will get you!"


It happened to me and the lifegurad forced us to go out the pools. The thunderstorm caused a shock in the electrical system and from the shower room you could see electric sparks. Never again.
Another myth: "in past times there was a lot of snow in the Tuscan plains." I checked a reliable publication by the Italian government: there was written that in the period 1921-1960 the average snowfall was 5 cm (2 in) or less per year.


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## Welsh_Sion

Probably a myth spread by elocutionists:

"The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!"

But this one is undoubtedly true:

"In Hartford, Hereford, and Hampshire, Hurricanes hardly happen."

Source: The Rain in Spain Lyrics - My Fair Lady Soundtrack Lyrics


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## Forero

Mackinder said:


> Another myth: "Don't get inside pool while it's raining because lightning will get you!"


This is not a myth. Swimming outside during a thunderstorm is asking for trouble.


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## Penyafort

In Catalonia, the Empordà region (North-East) is certainly known by the Tramuntana wind (Tramontane in English), called like this as it comes from beyond the mountains. It may affect daily life, specially in the fields or at sea, and the association with being _tocat de l'ala _(literally 'hurt in one wing' but meaning 'fool') of those living in such a weather is quite common. Salvador Dalí was from the region.

If you have _vent al cap _(wind in the head), this means you have irrational ideas.

My very head feels heavy whenever there's a long windy day around. If it lasted for weeks, it might drive me crazy for sure.


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## Awwal12

Linnets said:


> Another myth: "in past times there was a lot of snow in the Tuscan plains." I checked a reliable publication by the Italian government: there was written that in the period 1921-1960 the average snowfall was 5 cm (2 in) or less per year.


There could have been more in the 18th and the 19th centuries, though (during the Little Ice Age), couldn't it?


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## Linnets

Awwal12 said:


> There could have been more in the 18th and the 19th centuries, though (during the Little Ice Age), couldn't it?


That's for sure, I'm trying to find records about the climate during the Little Ice Age: I've discovered some particularly cold years in which olive trees were killed by "excessive frost"; in fact in our zone there are no old olive trees (unlike, for example, Tuscan Maremma) and there were no such trees before January 1985 when we reached -23.5°C/-10.3°F, destroying all olive crops.


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## Kaoss

> May beautiful and full of flowers), y también "Si marzo mayea, mayo marcea" (when the weather in March is as it should be in May, then in May it will be the other way round).



I always though that could be tranlated to english, rather cryptically: "If march mays then may will march"


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## Welsh_Sion

Not sure if they're myths but these two feature in English, the first being universal, I guess as it is referenced from the New Testament.

1 Red sky at night, shepherds'* delight. (Tomorrow will be sunny)
Red sky in the morning, shepherds' warning. (The coming day will be stormy)

(*I can't remember if the shepherd(s) is/are sing./plur.)

2 Ash before the oak, and we're sure to have a soak (If the ash tree bears leaves before the oak tree, then it'll rain a lot)
Oak before the ash, and we'll only have a splash (If the oak tree bears leaves before the ash tree, then it'll only rain a little bit)


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## apmoy70

Another myth, the weather in the first twelve days of the eighth lunar month (which usually falls in August) corresponds to the weather in the twelve months of the following year (each day is a month). This weather forecast (more like guessing) is called «μερομήνια» [me̞ɾo̞ˈmiɲa] (neut. nom. pl.) = _daily-months_ (or somethinɡ like that).


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