Even with today's modern technology, it can be very hard to predict the severity and frequency of natural disasters. In the past, people predicted natural disasters in various different ways, for example by examining the clouds, looking at the color if the sky, the direction of the wind and by looking at animals behavior. People often looked to the sky to determine what the weather held for the day, or even what they could expect tomorrow [All02]. The old saying "Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning; red sky at night, sailor's delight" and "Evening red and morning gray, you're sure to have a fishing day. Stay at home when the morning sky appears red, but look for a good day's travel when the evening clouds turn crimson", have helped people to learn what type of weather they could expect. Even the Bible predicted the weather; Mathew 16:2, "when in the evening you say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today for the sky is red and threatening.'" [All02] These proverbs have a surprisingly good rate of accuracy. These days Meteorologists use modern technology to predict the weather. In ancient times, people could only use the power of observation and these tales to understand what the weather would bring. Through these rhymes, they could observe the changing patterns of the seasons. It was also common to observe animals and the growing cycles of plants to predict changes in the weather. Through these observations, people could tell when a rainy season was coming and when it would get cold. These predictions helped us learned to prepare ourselves in advance for the winter. The migration of animals was also a sign of change. It has long been believed that Animals sense changes in weather and change their behavior. This may be true, for example a study conducted by the universities of Arizona and Northwest Missouri confirmed cows tend to lie down in a group before a thunderstorm [McC13].
