The weather rock or weather stone is a humour display that pokes fun at the intricate technology used in modern
weather forecasts
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th centu ...
, as well as the fact that their accuracy is less than perfect. A rock is typically hung from a tripod and accompanied by a sign indicating how to read it. A portable example of such a display, "the famous Maine Weather Stone" of
Audubon Camp, Hog Island, was described in 1982.
Instructions
![The Milestone weather forecasting stone - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/The_Milestone_weather_forecasting_stone_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1708774.jpg)
Some examples of the instructions commonly provided for "reading" a weather rock include:
*If the rock is wet, it's raining.
*If the rock is swinging, the wind is blowing.
*If the rock casts a shadow, the sun is shining.
*If the rock does not cast a shadow and is not wet, the sky is cloudy.
*If the rock is difficult to see, it is foggy.
*If the rock is white, it is snowing.
*If the rock is coated with ice, there is a frost.
*If the ice is thick, it's a heavy frost.
*If the rock is bouncing, there is an earthquake.
*If the rock is under water, there is a flood.
*If the rock is warm, it is sunny.
*If the rock is missing, there was a tornado.
*If the rock is wet and swinging violently, there is a hurricane.
*If the rock can be felt but not seen, it is night time.
*If the rock has white splats on it,
watch out for birds.
*If there are two rocks, stop drinking, you are drunk.
Weather rocks will also sometimes include rules for proper maintenance of the system such as, "Please do not disturb the weather rock, it is a finely tuned instrument!"
String variation
In certain circumstances the string may be incorporated into the saying:
*If the string is on fire then there is a bushfire.
*If the string is cut a
Wendigo
Wendigo () is a mythological creature or evil spirit originating from the folklore of Plains and Great Lakes Natives as well as some First Nations. It is based in and around the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the U ...
has passed by.
Locations
Weather rocks are located all over the world. Some examples include:
*United States
**The weather rock at
Fort Drum
Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home ...
, a US military site in
New York
**In the Nature Area at Camp Rotary, a
Boy Scout summer camp located in
Clare, Michigan
Clare is a city mostly in Clare County, Michigan, Clare County in the U.S. State of Michigan. A small portion of the city extends south into Isabella County, Michigan, Isabella County. The population was 3,254 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...
**Camp Wolfeboro, a Boy Scout summer camp in Arnold, California
**Camp Yawgoog, a Boy Scout summer camp at the
Yawgoog Scout Reservation
Yawgoog Scout Reservation (Camp Yawgoog) is a reservation for scouting located in Rockville, Rhode Island and operated by the Narragansett Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Founded in 1916, Yawgoog is the fifth oldest Boy Scout camp in th ...
in
Rockville, Rhode Island
Rockville is a village in the town of Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The zip code is 02873.
Notable people
* Burrows Burdick, Wisconsin legislator, was born in Rockville.'A catalogue of the Officers and Students of Al ...
**The Donner's Pass Historic Site, near
Lake Tahoe, CA
**Elliot's Weather Rock in
Clearfield, PA
**
Bloomington Zoo in Central Illinois
**In Rhododendron, Oregon, near the
Zigzag River off Road 10
**On Spangler Road near Highway 213 in Oregon City, Oregon
**
Boron, California
Boron (formerly Amargo, Baker, Borate, and Kern) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Boron is southwest of Red Rock Mountain at an elevation of . The population was 2,086 at the 2020 census, up from 2,025 ...
, in front of Domingo's Mexican and Seafood Restaurant, a famous
astronaut hangout near
Edwards Air Force Base
**Seven Ranges Boy Scout Reservation in
Kensington, Ohio
**Firelands Scout Reservation in
Wakeman, Ohio
Wakeman is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States, along the Vermilion River. Its namesake was Jesup Wakeman, an early settler of Fairfield County, Connecticut, who was involved in western land speculation between 1800 and 1840.
The p ...
**Nature Camp in Vesuvius, Virginia
**Whippi Dip ice cream store, at the Pontaluna road in
Spring Lake, MI
Spring Lake is a village in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,323 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Spring Lake Township.
History
In 1837, Captain Benjamin Hopkins purchased land in the area an ...
, near
Hoffmaster State Park
**Lynnhaven Inlet Fishing Pier in
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
**The
Kia Kima Scout Reservation in
Hardy, Arkansas
Hardy is the 2nd oldest city in Sharp and Fulton counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 765 in 2020.
Geography
Hardy is located at (36.320553, -91.480645).
The Spring River, which begins in Mammoth Spring, flows through H ...
**Casa Sul Lago
*Canada
**At the Pancake Bay Trading Post, near
Pancake Bay Provincial Park
Pancake Bay Provincial Park was established in 1968 by Ontario Parks. It is a recreation-class provincial park created to help preserve the fragile beach dune ecology. There are 325 campsites, including 160 with electricity. There are three com ...
, Ontario
*Australia
**Outside the McDonald's restaurant in
Lithgow, NSW
**Tenterfield in NSW
**Ficks crossing near Kingaroy QLD
**Pannawonica in WA
*Netherlands
**Oostdorp
*United Kingdom
**Lobster Pot Tea-room on the island of
Berneray in the
Outer Hebrides,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
*
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
**The Halyards Hotel in
Port Alfred
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
*
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
**
Glaciarium Museum,
El Calafate
El Calafate, also known as ''Calafate'', is a city in Patagonia, Argentina. It is situated on the southern border of Lake Argentino, in the southwest part of the Santa Cruz Province (Argentina), Santa Cruz Province, about northwest of Río Galleg ...
*Japan
**,
Shizuoka Prefecture
*Ireland
** In Dublin's Brazen Head Pub there's a weather forecasting stone.
References
{{Reflist
See also
*
Nowcasting (meteorology)
Nowcasting is weather forecasting on a very short term Mesoscale meteorology, mesoscale period of up to 2 hours according to the World Meteorological Organization and up to six hours according to other authors in the field. This forecast is an ext ...
Jokes
Weather lore