It's been suggested weather forcasters look out the window more often to get it right. I think it's fair to say most of us have what I call a selective weather memory. By that I mean we all remember when the success of a particular day relied on the weather report being correct and it wasn't. We all tend to remember that day for a long time, compared to the day when the weather has no impact on what we do.

Because of that, it's easy to think the forecasts are more often wrong. The truth is the daily forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology have an accuracy rate of 80 to 85%, and despite the fact technology is improving all the time, that figure will never reach 100% because we are dealing with mother nature, which has a big role to play here as well.

All you have to do, is speak to a farmer whose family has worked the land for generations, and they'll have a whole different set of rules for forecasting. They pass on decades of tales of observing different signs in nature, and the fact these stories endure over time means there must be something to it. While some of the ideas are nothing more then old wives' tales, there is substance to others. Take the saying "Red Sky at night sailors delight". It's a very old saying suggesting that if that happens, the next day will be fine. There is some validity to the idea because the colours at sunset are caused by the sun's rays bouncing off particles in the atmosphere. If the air is dry, it's often holding dust particles which causes a vivid red hue across the western sky as the sun refects and refracts off the dust. Because weather patterns move from west to east, it's correct to presume the dry air and dust is an indicator the next day will be fine.

Recently I had a cat ower claiming their cat could predict the weather, because when it licks its coat or passes its paw behind its ears it rains. If there's any truth in it at all, consider this. When the humidity is low during good weather, particularly in winter, static electricity can build up on the cat's fur as it brushes past objects. The theory is a cat licks itself to moisten the fur so the charge can leak off its coat which helps to stop the static electricity from building up and the cat doesn't get zapped. So perhaps when a cat does lick itself, it's an indicator of fine weather, or then again, maybe it's simply taking a bath.

If you've got any interesting methods of your own for predicting weather, let us know. Leave your comments below.