Wow! My toe is twitching…rain must be coming. This is just an idea of how back in the day our ancestors were able to predict the weather that was coming. I just love sitting around with an elderly person and listening to how things were back then and how they still believe in the old family ways over new modern technology. Hundreds of years ago, people really had to depend on their surrounds to help predict the weather. They watched everything around them, from the sky to the earth, and how the animals were acting. Red Sky at Morning The oldest known wives tale is: “Red sky at morning, sailors...

5.) The Great Natchez Tornado of 1840 This number 5 destructive tornado formed in southern Concordia Parish in Louisiana. The storm left a trail of destruction twenty miles long, leaving more than 300 people dead and many more injured. The storm was preceded by storms leaving three inches of rain with deadly lightening, already weakening the area. The following day another wretched afternoon thunderstorm arose. This one brought more than the area could have predicted. The mile-wide tornado began to form over the Deer Park and Solcum area of Concordia Parish. The sound of the devastating storm...

Here in the South, when it’s hot – it’s hot. There may be an occasional breeze that will rustle your hair and give you a moment’s relief from the heat, but besides that – it’s hot. Recently, it hasn’t just been the South that has been suffering from these high temperatures. If you’ve set foot outside practically anywhere in the US, then you have noticed the unusually hot weather we’ve been experiencing lately. Normally the heat likes to “hang out,” if you will, in certain places within the US; lately, however, the heat hasn’t had any prejudices about where it likes to “hang...

When we see bags of flour on the shelves and fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market, we do not consider the preciousness of their presence, but the truth is that our food faces daily fights just for survival. Fortunately, today we have special fertilizers, pesticides, and other preventions and protections that keep our food crops alive and healthy. There have been times throughout America’s history, however, when our crops lost the battle for survival. Here are five stories about true crop disasters from the past; some of them you may or may not know, but each reveals the great impact that the...

The first hurricane experience ever recorded was in 1494 by Christopher Columbus. Written records continued through the years. Some of the most thorough records were kept by Benjamin Franklin, who was seen as one of the first meteorologists. The first meteorological recorded storm was in 1871 near the Flordia Keys and tracked its course as it traveled west towards Texas. Since then these storms have been documented and studied as they damage cities and states. Over the past 500 years, serious storms have come and gone, leaving their marks on towns and in history. Of all the storms, three have made an...