Why is a Red Sky in the Morning a Shepherds Warning?
Red sky at night, Shepherd’s delight; Red sky at morning, Shepherd’s warning. A practical nursery rhyme Practical origins for this English nursery rhyme are based on the weather predictions of England and how a red sky at night would indicate fair weather on the following day. Conversely a shepherd would say that a red sky in the morning would suggest inclement weather to follow. It should be remembered that there were no weather forecasts, as such, in days gone by and one had to make one’s own weather predictions.
This is a reference to the weather in Britain where the prevailing wind and the rain come from the west. The low angle of the sun at sunset and sun rise turns the sky red by being filtered through low cloud. So if it happens in the evening the probability is that the rain will fall at night and in the morning the rain will fall during the day.
