I guess my Grandmother's idea for knowing the weather wasn't so bad after all: she had a piece of white rope about 12 inches long hanging on her clothes line right outside the kitchen window. When the rope was wet it was raining, dry it wasn't raining. When the rope was swinging it was windy, when it was ice covered it was below freezing. When the rope was bright is was dry and sunny and dark and grayish indicated it was cloudy and damp. That seemed to be all she needed to know. Worked everytime.