# How do Cows know when it will rain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381 "2004-06-14T23:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neilchaban329](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3ab097/32.png) [@neilchaban329](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neilchaban329)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/1 "2004-06-14T23:05:38Z")
:smack: It’s driving me nuts!!! I love cows and i don’t know how they know its going to rain! From, Neil -cow lover ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/2 "2004-06-14T23:07:31Z")
They don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/3 "2004-06-14T23:09:41Z")
My cow-orkers know when it’s gonna rain cuz they watch the Weather channel. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/4 "2004-06-14T23:17:23Z")
Neil, this sounds like an interesting question. Could you describe the circumstances under which you came to believe that your cows had the power to detect impending precipitation? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/5 "2004-06-14T23:18:41Z")
They study mooteorology. ---
**Author:** ![kezami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eb8c5e/32.png) [@kezami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kezami)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/6 "2004-06-14T23:20:49Z")
Well, if I recollect correctly, their MOOOO-D changes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/7 "2004-06-14T23:25:01Z")
I’ve heard for years that when you see cows lying down that it is going to rain. Recently, I saw some cows lying down, but knew the forecast didn’t mention rain. I asked someone at the local store, what it meant when cows laid down. His answer was that they were chewing the cud. When I mentioned something about rain, he laughed. :o ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/8 "2004-06-14T23:34:49Z")
“Hey, Randy, cud you mooove over? [I think it’s gonna rain today](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/I-think-It's-Going-To-Rain-Today-lyrics-Randy-Newman/2B918FB0EF174AE548256A370046645D) and I gotta lie down.” ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/9 "2004-06-14T23:44:58Z")
The cows lying down in the pasture thing is Appalachian folklore. Maybe other folk lore, too, but it was mentioned in the old Foxfire books. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/10 "2004-06-14T23:46:28Z")
> [@Backwater Under\_Duck](#): > > The cows lying down in the pasture thing is Appalachian folklore. Maybe other folk lore, too, but it was mentioned in the old Foxfire books. I thought it was that the cows laid down when there was gonna be an earthquake. I’d never heard the rain angle before… ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/11 "2004-06-15T00:27:31Z")
Knock-Knock Who’s there? Intrerupting Weather-prognosticating cow… Weather Prognos… …MOO… ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/12 "2004-06-15T00:33:24Z")
Definately rain. The Foxfire books were (are) really cool. Developed as an oral history of Apppalcahian living, they were chock-full of useful mountain living advice and literature. Step by step instructions for hewing wood logs for a cabin, building a still, musical instruments. Health advice such as choking yourself on a mouthful of peanut butter to cure hiccups (it works) 😉 . It started out as a series of magazines, but became a series of books, perfect for back-to-nature type hippies who aspired to become hillbillies :p. (Don’t start with me. Why some of my best friends are…) ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/13 "2004-06-15T06:41:59Z")
Cows are dumb. They do not know when it is going to rain, and they lie down when they are tired of standing up. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/14 "2004-06-15T10:38:05Z")
They know it’s going to rain as soon as they start getting wet. ---
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/15 "2004-06-15T11:34:29Z")
in scotland they used to believe the cows could determine the weater. Lying down meant that they were saving themself a dry patch. But not scientificly based :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![deadeyesdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@deadeyesdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deadeyesdad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/16 "2004-06-15T14:43:35Z")
My quick look around the dairy shows all cows not eating or being milked are laying down. Sunny and 97 is the forecast for today. They lay down when they aren’t doing anything else. Lay there and chew their cud. Oh yeah and they know it is going to rain because they saw me wash my car. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/17 "2004-06-15T18:16:15Z")
Ever since we started eating them, they’ve been studying meat-eorology. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/18 "2004-06-15T18:24:49Z")
Well they do live outside all the time. Maybe they’ve put together that when the clouds are not white and fluffy but dark and brooding that means it’s going to rain soon… Maybe the feel the barometric pressure in their udders. Maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/19 "2004-06-15T18:41:34Z")
I grew up on a farm where we raised cattle. Our land was partly pasture and partly wooded. Our cows would head for the woods when it was about to rain. I think **Zebra** ’s theory that cows associate brooding clouds with rain is the most likely answer. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381/20 "2004-06-15T19:16:08Z")
The remarkable thing is that modern man seems to think we need to be told. Honestly, how often have you been surprised by rain, when you were outside and paying attention to the skies (or the ground in the distance)? As unpracticed as we are, I’d say it’s only happened to me a handful of times (sudden downpours on bright sunny days with few clouds) and even then, you can often see signs develop for several minutes in advance. How far in advance can cows supposedly foresee rain? Does it count if they’re lying in the field all day, and it rains at dusk? Does it count if they only detect it minutes or seconds in advance? I certainly know people who detect when it is already beginning to lightly rain sooner than I do. I imagine a cow, naked, outdoors all day, and lacking most of our distractions would be more attuned to basic changes in wind, temperature, and sound than we are. Assuming they particularly care. In my experience, they don’t mind a few droplets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-cows-know-when-it-will-rain/250381.md?page=2)