THE WEATHER Some signs of the impending weather, as read and forecast by the shepherds and ploughmen of Suffolk, with comments thereon, in the West Suffolk dialect.
1. We-er gorn ter git sum wet, bor, oi sed owd Nor's ark wus arbout earlie on ar-smornin. The " Noah's Ark " is a formation of streaky clouds Cirrostratus, which in outline is the shape of a ship thus stretching across the sky from north to south, rarely from east to west, often the centre is streaked with Cirro-stratus, it is then difficult to discern. When rain is imminent, formations of lower and darker clouds Strato-cumulus can be seen approaching. This sign and forecast is accurate, and little or much rain will fall within the following twenty-four hours. The beginnings of this Observation was taught me by my grandfather around the years 1910 to 1913. 2. We might git ar-drop, daint yer sea they owd ship (sheep) ar-floating arbout, they arnt ar-good sign, bor. Boats, sometimes called sheep, are puffs of white cloud, Cumulus, moving across the sky usually from west to east at a fairly low altitude. These puffs sometimes appear to impinge upon slower moving or cross currents of air, the puffs which follow crowding together, forming a widespread cloud, Nimbo-stratus. On occasions the puffs of Cumulus will disintegrate and disappear. This sign and forecast is of little or much rain. Not so accurate as the Noah's Ark. 3. We-er gorn ter git-ar half tidy day oi reckun, hefty owd dagg ar-smornin. " Hefty Dagg ", a heavy dew, is the sign and forecast for a fine sunny day, often h o t ; it is sometimes called a wet frost or water frost on account of the conspicuous tracks made by the passing of man or animals over grass-land. 4. Oi thowt we shud git sum afor long, we-er had free-er they owd whiten's. " Whiten's " are hoar frosts or white frosts, and if three of these occur on successive mornings it is the sign and forecast for rain, a fairly accurate forecast. 5. We-11 git-ar drop-er tew afor ther owd day iss out, owd phoebe wus's suffen waterie.