When you are out in the woods and the weather channel is out of signal, these are some natural weather signs you can use to make your own forecast.

Clouds

• Low clouds, swiftly moving, indicate coolness and rain
• Hard-edged clouds indicate wind
• Rolled or jagged clouds indicate strong wind
• “Mackerel” sky (when the clouds are small and scattered all over) indicates storms in about 12 hours

Look out for rain when…

• A slack rope tightens
• Smoke beats downward
• Sun is red in the morning
• There is a pale yellow or greenish sunset

Rains

• Rain with east wind is lengthy
• A sudden shower is soon over
• A slow rain lasts a long time
• Rain before seven, clear before eleven
• A circle round the moon means “storm.”

And then there are these gems:

“The evening red, the morning gray
Sets the traveler on his way;
The evening gray, the morning red
Brings down showers upon his head.”

“When the grass is dry at night
Look for rain before the light.”

“When the grass is dry at morning light
Look for rain before the night.”

Clear

• “When the dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.”
• A heavy morning fog generally indicates a clear day
• West wind brings clear, bright, and cool weather
• North wind brings cold
• South wind brings heat

Direction of the Wind

To find which way the wind is blowing is to throw up little bits of dry grass, or to hold up a handful of light dust and let it fall.

Alternatively, suck your thumb, wet it all around and let the wind blow over it. The cold side of it will then tell you which way the wind is blowing.

How to Get Your Bearings

If you have lost your bearings, and it is a cloudy day, put the point of your knife blade on your thumb nail, and turn the blade around until the full shadow of the blade is on the nail. This will tell you where the sun is, and decide in which direction the camp is.

Face the sun in the morning, spread out your arms straight from body. Before you is the east; behind you is the west; to your right is the south; the left hand is the north.

Grass turns with the sun. Remember this when finding your way at night.