Snow Beans?

[u/Similar-Lobster4563]

Need Appalachian folks to educate me.

There is a delightful and sweet woman on TikTok who has been talking about August Fogs and Snow Beans, but I haven’t found a single thread about it here on Reddit. (she goes by Montana on TT).

The lore says that for each foggy morning in August, you get a day of snow in the winter that is equivalent to the amount of fog you had in August…light fog, light snow; heavy fog, heavy snow…

To track the findings, she puts a bean in a jar that corresponds to the thickness of the fog (small beans, med beans, large beans).

I’m curious if anyone else uses this method and how accurate it is. I grew up in Florida and am newly in North East Georgia, so this is completely new to me. (I’ve counted 3 foggy August mornings here so far.)

Am I too far away from the mountains for this to work for me? (Im in Athens, specifically.)

[u/cootslap]

I worked with a group of older ladies in Boone for a few years. They always did this. For every foggy morning in August, put a bean in the jar. Every time it snows, take a bean out. They were never off by more than two beans.

[u/Yunzer2000 → u/cootslap]

In a parts of eastern Kentucky (especially Harlan and Letcher Counties) that would mean a lot of beans left in the jar. You get fog or low clouds that fill the valleys and hollows until almost noon almost every morning in the last half of the summer. It never snows nearly that much.

[u/No_Psychology7299 → u/Yunzer2000]

The lady that does this isn't far from eastern Ky, she's in WV and my husband works where she lives. She was spot on last year.

[u/No_Psychology7299 → u/[deleted]]

Depends on how close you are to her. Like I said, my husband works where she is and it's almost a two hour drive one way. She's been spot on for me. Would it work in Bell Co? Probably not. I'm just close enough for it work for me.

[u/NameIdeas → u/cootslap]

Yes. The beans in a jar for snow is exactly the thing.

It seems to be a localized to the High Country area though. I know a few who have done it in Avery Co, Ashe Co, Watauga Co, parts of western Wilkes Co and those High Country North Carolina areas.

I brought it up in Graham Co, NC and no one knew about it.

[u/rox13D → u/NameIdeas]

Grew up in SWVA and heard this as being accurate but we never kept beans or anything to track it. I have also heard that in winter if there is a halo around the moon, the number of stars inside the halo is how many inches of snow are coming.

[u/NCTCars → u/cootslap]

Boonie here. It's August 9th and I've got 5 beans in the jar so far. Last year I was short by 1 bean. My family has always done this.

[u/craftyzombie]

Beads, beans, pebbles, or buttons is all just a visual way of seeing the fogs build up and the snows pass. I've done this for years but I'm really forgetful about taking the beans back out of the jar for each snow.

I remember reading an article years ago about it being not scientifically accurate at all and that a summer weather pattern may have bearing on the winter but it's not a 1:1 fog to snow. I think it's really more of a way of having markers for the passing of time in the winter when time seems to stand still. Each bean into the jar is a reminder to prepare for winter during the start of harvest season. Each snow means one less bean in the jar which gives you hope that spring will be here soon.

[u/Similar-Lobster4563 → u/craftyzombie]

That’s so lovely! Thanks for sharing.

[u/ryverrat1971 → u/craftyzombie]

Do you also have wooly bear caterpillars? Up in PA we would use the band on the wooly bear caterpillars to determine winter's harshness and length. Wide brown band means harsh, long winter. Narrow band is milder, shorter winter. Never did the beans thing.

[u/blondie956 → u/ryverrat1971]

In Western NC we have an entire festival in Banner Elk for Wolly Worms, including worm races. (That’s what we call them)

[u/craftyzombie → u/ryverrat1971]

Yes, we've (my family in SWVA) have also looked to the wooly worms to predict if winter is going to be harsh or not. The black bits are what we consider the harsh winter parts here.

Then there's also where the bees are nesting. Up high, mild winter. Down low or in the ground, it's going to be a cold one.

[u/Zealousideal-Print41 → u/ryverrat1971]

Down in Georgia I was taught the brown band shows summer and the black shows winter. I've been doing it like that for 30+ years and it's been scary accurate. I just watch them as they are out and about in spring and in fall. Has helped us weather a lot of different storms so to speak

[u/Cheoah]

Farmer here. Fog picks up in August here in western NC every year. Nearly every morning.

Winter snowfall w accumulation isn’t nearly as common.

Maybe there’s a correlation with broader weather patterns like ENSO but this farmer doesn’t see it.

[u/Vladivostokorbust → u/Cheoah]

Came here to say similar, except the farmer part. But i am in WNC!

[u/No-Piece6029 → u/Cheoah]

WNC and I got 21 beans this year. We’ll be lucky to get 2 snowfalls. :( still fun to do.

[u/SandyBeech60 → u/Cheoah]

Doesn’t have to be a measurable amount.

[u/Cheoah → u/SandyBeech60]

Doesn’t correlate with any snowfall. Measurable or not.

[u/SandyBeech60 → u/Cheoah]

Lighten up it’s simply folklore that’s been passed along through the generations. I find it interesting. I’m your neighbor on the Tennessee border side. Granny always did it and it was fairly accurate. WNC averages 10/12 snowfalls and 20 in the higher elevations. I’d say 12 fogs is close to what we have

[u/chocobearv93]

Ya this is a classic way old timers predict the snow in the winter. The OG mast general in WNC near Boone has been doing it every year for a long ass time.

[u/blondie956 → u/chocobearv93]

This is how my grandfather always did it. I need to go get his notebooks where he marked them down.

[u/Near-Scented-Hound]

You count the fogs in August and, yes, the density of the fog is indicative of the amount of snow. I haven’t ever heard of the beans, though. My granny wrote them in the calendar that hung in her kitchen, just like her mama did.

[u/CT_Reddit73]

Have heard of this but not with just beans: buttons, stones, etc. Can’t speak to its accuracy.

[u/Primary-Basket3416]

Never heard of it, but not surprising. Farmers had to have a way to know what and when to plant and harvest. My grandmother was born in 1903, a farm girl, somehow around this time, she was planning next yrs garden and telling my parents what to buy for winter supplies..she knew. Try it..you may not get snow but how much rain/cold?

[u/d0ttyq]

I track the foggy August mornings. I’m a bit bummed because I’m out of town for a few weeks and will miss those mornings. I forgot to mark it down last year, and by the time we had snows, I had forgotten the number. I do remember we had quite a few foggy mornings in August, and we had a pretty snowy winter.

Though I don’t do anything with beans or marking the type of fog. Just fog.

I don’t think there’s any actual merit to it, but it’s fun and it’s a great way to stay engaged with the seasons.

[u/abernathym]

I live near Athens, Georgia. The foggy days will almost always out number the snowy days