Since the earliest human settlements, a reliable weather forecast could help people to plan. In the days when most people lived off the land, it could mean the difference between life and death. Traditional forecasters rely on their knowledge of the land, and their observation of wildlife as much as on watching the sky. Their experience and instincts count even today where most forecasting is done using hugely complex computer models. A huge stock of weather lore and sayings has also been built up over the years and many are still in use today - right or not!

Some weather lore is known to be correct. 'Mares' tails and mackerel scales make tall ships take in their sails' has a definite scientific basis of explanation. The familiar mackerel sky - cirrocumulus clouds - often precedes an approaching warm front, with a strong likelihood of veering winds and precipitation.

'Clear moon, frost soon' is also true. When the atmosphere is clear and cloud-free, the surface of the Earth will cool rapidly by radiation, and if no wind exists and the temperature is low enough, frost may form. There are around 3,000 weather proverbs in Britain and many are hundreds of years old.

A better indication of approaching weather can be had by using the instruments of traditional forecasters. Seaweed, pine cones, and close observation of animals and plants, as well as of the sky, can give us a good idea of what is happening weatherwise. One of the best known traditional folklore forecasters is Yorkshireman William Foggitt, now 88 years old. He relies on family archives dating from 1830 and his own records to produce forecasts. In particular he looks at how the weather affects birds, plants and animals in the countryside around his home in Thirsk. He claims 88 per cent accuracy.