There are a lot of old sayings relating to the weather. Like “Red sky at night is a sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning is a sailor’s warning.” The principle of that one goes back thousands of years. Even Jesus acknowledged it in Matthew 16:2 and 3.
There is also the one about cows laying down when it is about to rain and your joints aching when it is going to be cold. Wooly worms as a sign of bad winters fits here. What about frying an egg on the sidewalk? Or lightning not striking twice in the same place?
Well, the old adage about a snow staying on the ground for three days being a sign that another one is on the way seems to have proven right once more. On Friday morning, Jan. 8, we awakened to a beautiful coat of snow in Middle Tennessee. About an inch at our house. When I went out to walk our little dog, Brody, Sunday evening about sunset, I could see traces of snow still hanging around.
Early Monday morning it started back again: exactly three days later on the remnants of Friday’s snow.
This saying is difficult to trace so it is not in any of my books. It has been around for a “coon’s age” though. But it is not always true and is based on folklore like the others I just mentioned (other than the one from the Bible). It comes from the fact that if temperatures stay low enough so the snow doesn’t all melt that long, a new system is likely to move in and the precip will likely be of the frozen variety.
I’m still not going outside with my head wet when it is cold even if I won’t “catch my death.”
As I prepare this column for submission, three days after the last snowfall, there are still tiny patches left in my back yard. Now the forecast is for more snow Saturday morning. By the time you are reading this, you will know if it came true again!
The snow is pretty, and as long as it doesn’t lay on the roads, just enjoy it while it’s around!
If you would like to know the origin of a favorite expression, text the author at 931-212-3303 or email him at stan@stclair.net.