Cat Nights begin soon after the Dog Days end

I suppose that just about everyone is familiar with the Dog Days of summer. According to my trusty Old Farmers Almanac, the Dog Days are the 40-day period between July 3 and Aug. 11. As most readers can testify, the Dog Days represent the hottest and most humid time of the summer.

However, some readers may not be familiar with what’s known as Cat Nights. According to the almanac, Cat Nights begin on Aug. 17, which was yesterday. For some reason unknown to me, sources don’t give an end date for Cat Nights, but if they last 40 days like Dogs Days, they will come to a close around Sept. 25.

The almanac says that the term “Cat Nights goes back to the days when people believed in witches. “A rather obscure Irish legend said that a witch could turn herself into a cat eight times, but on the ninth time, she couldn’t regain her human form,” the almanac says. “This bit of folklore also gives us the saying, ‘A cat has nine lives.’”

Cats are also known to yowl a lot during August, and some say that this behavior prompted speculation about witches being on the prowl at this time of year. This time of year also marks the time when nights are growing longer, which suits cats fine since they are nocturnal hunters. Cats are what’s known as crepuscular creatures and they pretty much own the night thanks to their superior night vision.

Aside from the end of Dog Days and the beginning of Cat Nights, the month of August is an interesting and unusual month on the calendar. It’s the month of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. Those of you who stayed up late Saturday night to see it for yourself will know that it can be impressive.

Weather folklore also says that if the first week of August is unusually warm, then winter will be “white and long.” I wouldn’t say that the first week of this August was unusually warm, but I would say it was unusually hot! With that in mind, we should probably prepare for snow next winter.

St. Lawrence’s Day fell on Aug. 10, and weather folklore says that fair weather on St. Lawrence’s Day means that we’ll have a fair autumn. Last Thursday was Aug. 10 and other than it being hot, the weather was otherwise fair. I hope that means we’ll also have good weather during autumn, which starts on Sept. 23 and runs through Dec. 21.

Around Aug. 12 each year gray squirrels have their second litters, and ragweed begins to bloom around Aug. 18, which is today. In preparation for the coming winter, hummingbirds also begin to migrate south around Aug. 26.

August 2023 is also somewhat special because we’ll have a Blue Moon. A Blue Moon occurs when there are two full moons in the same calendar month. This month’s first full moon (known as the Sturgeon Moon) fell on Aug. 1, and the second full moon will fall on Aug. 30.

In the end, let me hear from you if you know of any other weather folklore or superstitions about the month of August. Also, I’d like to hear from anyone who has ever heard how long Cat Nights last or when they traditionally end.