Weather stick
Encyclopedia
A weather stick is a traditional means of weather prediction used by some Native Americans
. It consists of a balsam fir
or birch
rod mounted outdoors which twists upwards in low humidity
and downwards in high-humidity environments. These sticks were first used by the Native Americans
of the American northeast and the Canadian east and southeast, who noted the behavior of dry branches prior to the arrival of weather changes. The weather stick is a rare example of a weather prediction tool which predates the mercury barometer
.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. It consists of a balsam fir
Balsam Fir
The balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States .-Growth:It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically tall, rarely to tall, with a narrow conic crown...
or birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
rod mounted outdoors which twists upwards in low humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
and downwards in high-humidity environments. These sticks were first used by the Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of the American northeast and the Canadian east and southeast, who noted the behavior of dry branches prior to the arrival of weather changes. The weather stick is a rare example of a weather prediction tool which predates the mercury barometer
Barometer
A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
.