Where There's Smoke

Like any good farmer, my dad always kept an eye on the skies. He swore by the old saying red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. Depending on what he saw on the horizon, we’d either make hay or wait for another day.

As a boy, I figured this sailor’s warning was some old wives’ tale. Turns out there’s science to the lore. A red sky at night means the light from the setting sun is passing through a high concentration of dust particles, presaging high barometric pressure and dry air arriving from the west. The coming days will usually be sunny and pleasant. A red sunrise, on the other hand, indicates high water content in the atmosphere and the low pressure of an approaching storm system. Rain could be on its way.

Even as I rolled my eyes at dad’s nose-to-the-wind, eyes-to-the-heavens weather forecasting, I had to marvel at his uncanny accuracy. Rarely did a freshly mown hayfield get rained on, harming the quality of the forage.

Couldn’t help thinki…