Maleny Weather

There was a Full Moon on Saturday 19^th March with a perigee measuring 356,577km, representing the 18 year shortest distance from earth.

The legend of the full moon’s effects on human behaviour has existed for centuries, popularised by the myth of the werewolf.  A report by the American Institute of Medical Climatology to the Philadelphia Police Department entitled “The Effect of the Full Moon on Human Behaviour” found that the full moon marks a monthly peak in various kinds of psychotically oriented crimes such as murder, arson, dangerous driving, and kleptomania. People do seem to get a little bit crazier about that time of the month.

That’s something most police and hospital workers have known for a long time. Indeed, back in eighteenth-century England, a murderer could plead “lunacy” if the crime was committed during the full moon and get a lighter sentence as a result.

Practical economic use of the lunar cycle has been going on for a long time. In tropical rain forest countries in South America and Southeast Asia, where most of the world’s hardwood comes from, tree-harvesting contracts are linked to the phase of the moon. The trees are only cut down on a waning moon, as near to the new moon as feasible. This is because on a waxing or full moon, the sap rises in the trees and extensive sap bleeding attracts hordes of death-watch beetles, which will devastate a crop. Awareness of this cycle means the difference between making and losing millions of dollars every year.

Cat Weather Forecaster

Cats have long been credited with supernatural powers, so it’s hardly surprising that they feature prominently in weather folklore. If a cat’s skin looks bright, it is said to mean that the next day will be fine; while if it wipes its mouth with its feet this is a sure sign of rain – especially if it covers its ears with its paws while doing so. Be sure to watch which direction the cat turns towards while washing its face – this is said to foretell the direction from which the wind will blow.

Rubbing table legs is also meant to indicate a change in the weather, while a sneezing cat is supposed to be a sign of rain. If a cat sits with its back to the fire there will be a hard frost or snow; later on, if it washes its face (again!) then the thaw is on its way. Cats are said to be unlucky aboard ship when they become unusually playful or quarrelsome – they are said to “have a gale of wind in their tail”, which will soon turn into a real gale.

Other beliefs are even more bizarre: an Irish saying holds that putting a cat under the pot will bring bad weather – presumably bad luck to the poor cat. One Victorian folklorist noted “this is sometimes done in jest to prevent a guest from departing”.

Finally, a word of warning: not every unusual reaction from a cat is weather-related. As one proverb notes: “Cats with their tails up and hair apparently electrified indicates approaching wind – or a dog”.