Harrowsmith – September 2019

130

WEATHER

Of course, when this weather

tale was created, we did not have

these tall towers and buildings,

so what about your house or your

favourite tree? Storms do not have

a memory, nor do they keep an

inventory list of places they have

hit in the past. In reality, lightning

can and will strike the same place

twice, whether it be during the

same storm or centuries later.

MYTH 2:

Cold weather can give you

a cold.

One of the most common myths,

this one is, frustratingly, still

widely believed. To catch a cold or

flu, you need to come in contact

with germs and viruses. Cold

weather alone can’t do this. So,

why do people still believe this?

Most likely because both the

frequency of colds and the peak of

the flu season happen during the

coldest part of the year. What

happens when it is cold? We tend

to spend more time indoors

breathing recirculated air, which

makes it easier to come in contact

with, or breathe in, the germs

that cause these illnesses. It’s

the circumstances of the cold

weather and not the weather itself

that makes you sick. You’re

actually more likely to stay

healthy if you spend more time

bundled up outdoors.

MYTH 3:

Achy joints forecast stormy

weather.

This is not entirely false. We do

see correlations between arthritic

pain and drops in barometric

pressure and rainfall, but this

does not mean that every time

your joints hurt it will be stormy.

Physical activity, especially

repetitive activity, is more likely to

cause joint pain than weather

alone. In this case, if a storm is

coming and you suffer from joint

pain, you will likely feel it. But,

conversely, if you have joint pain,

it does not always mean that

inclement weather is coming—you

may have just overdone it at your

tennis match the day before.

WEATHER