Dear Friends,
For millennia, mariners and farmers alike have looked up at the sky searching for a hint of the weather that might be coming. Many people have heard,
“Red sky in morning sailors take warning...red sky at night sailors' delight.
" A less well-known saying is
“Mares tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships carry low sails."
The combination of cirrus clouds and altocumulus clouds can mean a coming storm or high wind. Sailing ship masters wisely only used their lower sails in those conditions for safety and seaworthiness. Over the years, weather prediction has changed in many ways that would have been hard to imagine when Nobska was first constructed in 1829. For decades, Nobska was a critical link in letting mariners know about coming weather, by flying storm flags. Now, we have predictions that are remarkably accurate more than a week ahead on the phones in our pockets.
But still. Nothing compares to looking up at the sky. Nobska is always a terrific place for sky and clouds. One of the quotes that stuck with the Nobska Light Maritime Museum planning committee last summer was to encourage our visitors to “look up and look out at the world around you.”
I hope you all get a chance to do that today,
Catherine Bumpus
Executive Director
Friends of Nobska Light
P.S. Click on any of the links below to learn more about clouds...
