WEATHER : Natural Ways of Devising a Forecast

A woolly bear caterpillar as weather forecaster?

According to Country America magazine, people have for many years looked to various signs from nature, the bands on the bodies of woolly bear caterpillars among them, as sources for meteorological predictions. Some are simple indications of fact, but some have tales behind them.

Here is a sampling:

What does an early bloom on a wildflower such as a black-eyed Susan tell about the weather? Fall will be coming early.

Sun dogs--those orange spots that appear before sunset--are an indication that there will be rain within the next 24 hours.

What can you tell from the rings on the woolly bear caterpillar’s body? The severity of the coming winter. If, for example, the caterpillar has black bands on either end and a brown band in the middle, expect the winter to begin and end with cold temperatures and to have milder temperatures during the middle.

And when butterflies flit high above the rooftops in late fall? Winter will arrive soon.

Spider webs on the ground are another indication that a cold, hard winter is coming.

Distributed by AP Newsfeatures.