Inflatable Kayak Blog

Yesterday I was sitting at the computer pretending to work while I was actually day dreaming about paddling down a peaceful river in my inflatable kayak when “crash” … the thunder rolled and the lightning struck, just like Garth Brooks says in the song. The power cut out for only a couple seconds, but the lightning strike managed to knock out both the phone and internet service for the next 5 hours.

My office has no windows, so I had no idea of the impending possibility of the storm that hit our area. However it got me to thinking about an article I once read about some natural ways to predict the weather. I can remember a few times when they helped me decide to change my paddling plans, and they were absolutely correct.

Some of these may sound a bit old fashioned, but believe me, they really are pretty accurate.

• Fifty per cent of the time you see a ring around the moon, it’s going to rain.
• Lightning from the West is most likely to reach you. From the South or East, it probably won’t.
• If clouds are High in the sky, you probably won’t get a soaking rain. If the clouds are Low, be prepared to get drenched.
• When you see smoke driven downward, expect rain. Rising smoke indicates fair weather.

To read more, check out the ‘Natural Weather Indicators‘ article at PaddleTheWorld.com