Predicting the Rain
by CanoeGuru - March 19, 2008
 Those of us who spend significant time outdoors tend to have certain skills not necessarily shared by our couch-bound brethren (and "sistren"). You may be able to coax up a roaring campfire without a match, or catch a string of trout for your supper with flies you tied from the elk you shot. But if you really want to impress your buddies, there's another way.
I clearly remember one September camp-out. I and a couple of other adults had taken a group of 5th and 6th graders on an overnight campout at Branched Oak Lake. The forecast before we left called for clear weather, and the sky was cloudless as we sat around the campfire. I slept out under the stars that night, so I was the first one to hear the thunder and see the lightning at 5:30 the next morning. I wasn't a bit surprised, and since we'd put everything under cover the night before, I just moved my sleeping bag into the van and went back to sleep 'til the kids started to stir. You can tell when wet weather is coming, too. Just watch for the following signs:
Mare's tails - These are those long, wispy clouds that look sort of like an inverted horse's tail when the horse is running, or like a feathery Nike swoosh. Wet weather typically follows these clouds by 12 - 14 hours.
 Insect swarms - Watch for large swarms of insects to hover at around head height in the evening. When there is high pressure, they'll hover way up high. If there is low pressure, they're down low, around your head.
Scents - If you suddenly start noticing a strong fragrance from the evergreen trees around your camp, a low-pressure system is moving in.
Smoke - If your campfire smoke is rising straight up into the sky, you'll be dry. If it's hugging the ground and getting into everyone's eyes, low pressure prevails.
Any one of these signs alone could signal rain, but if you observe all of them together, you'd be wise to get your gear under cover. Be sure your tent is properly set up, with the rain fly in place and the lines taut so the tent sheds water. If your tent didn't come with sealed seams, hopefully you sealed them at home before heading out on your trip. No tent? Put your sleeping bag or bedroll as far under an evergreen tree as you can - you'll stay dry in all but a sideways, windblown downpour.
Having prepared for the rain the night before on that September campout, we and our gear were all high and dry when the rain began around seven that morning. Those kids thought I had a special "in" with God or something. Even the adults were looking at me sideways for having accurately predicted rain under the previous day's blue skies. I, of course, went about my business as if predicting the weather was the easiest thing in the world. Which it was. It's just another one of those skills possessed by people who spend a lot of time outdoors.
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