Benjamin Franklin observed that "some folk are weatherwise but most folk are otherwise". Still, everybody talks about the weather, and efforts to become "weatherwise" - to understand and anticipate our weather, and its slower sibling, climate - have occupied humankind through the ages.
For millennia we have looked to signs in nature for guidance, to the changing appearance of the sky or the behaviour of animals. We have prayed to the gods, done rain dances and created images of the weather in our art, music and literature. Most recently we have looked to science and technology to provide the answers. The last century has vastly increased our knowledge, but so vast and complex is the weather engine, it is beyond our complete understanding - and certain to be beyond our control.
In 'Weatherwise', David Ellyard's jam-packed, entertaining miscellany of fact, fiction and folklore, this complicated topic is brought to life with beautiful simplicity. What causes clouds and rain, cold snaps and heat waves, gentle winds and violent destructive storms? What do arthritis, gin and tonics and grey mare's tails have to do with the weather? The more we know the better we can predict, and while we may not be able to change the weather, at least we may be able to prepare for it.
