How-to web site wikiHow offers a beginner's crash course to predicting the weather with nothing but your wits and senses. For example:
Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and smell the air.
- Plants release their waste in a low pressure atmosphere, generating a smell like compost and indicating an upcoming rain.
- Swamps will release methane just before a storm because of the lower pressure, which leads to unpleasant smells.
- A proverb says "Flowers smell best just before a rain." Scents are stronger in moist air, associated with rainy weather.
In all, the post describes 10 different methods for predicting weather by observing smells, animals, the sky, and more using your sharp senses. If you've always wanted to pick up some grass, look up at the sky, inhale a full puff of air, and declare in your best down-home country twang: "Looks like there's a storm a-brewin', mother," this guide should give you a good start.