The matter in summary There are a lot of rowan berries on the trees this year, and many people wonder if this can predict the amount of snow for the winter. Some people believe in the myth that lots of rowanberries mean little snow, while others are skeptical. Meteorologist Hans Olav Hygen debunks the myth and says there is no connection between the amount of rowan berries in the summer and the amount of snow in the winter. The amount of rowan berries is affected by other factors, such as the age of the trees, and not the amount of snow. Hygen believes the myth arose because people have a need to understand connections, and rowan berries are visible and easy to link to weather conditions. Historian Ida Tolgensbekk explains that the myth appears to be connected with religion. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Have you heard the myth that there is a connection between rowan berries and the weather? This year there are a lot of rowan berries on the trees in Eastern Norway – but the question is whether it can tell us anything about the coming winter. Some believe it can tell you that there will be little snow, because the trees will not bear a heavy brush several times. Others think it means the opposite. news spoke to people on the streets of Gjøvik to hear what they think. We met Anne-Britt Engh, who believes in a connection. Anne Britt Salong is unsure whether a lot of rowan berries leads to little or a lot of snow. Photo: Roar Andre Berntsen / news – I really believe in what these old soothsayers say and write in the newspaper. So we’ll see, says Anne-Britt Engh. What do you think about this myth? A lot of rowan berries in the summer means that there will be little snow in the winter. Large amounts of rowan berries mean that the coming winter will be snowy❄️. I don’t believe in such myths🤣. I don’t care about this. Show result Rognebærår There are very divided opinions among people about whether the myth is true and, if so, what it means. Tom Leonardsen can at least confirm that it is a rowanberry year. – I have a rowan tree in the garden and I have never seen it as full as this year, he says. He is, however, doubtful that it portends that the coming winter will be snow-poor, which he has heard people put in context. – There were a lot of rowan berries last year as well, but I guess there hasn’t been that much snow for many years, so I don’t quite believe in that myth, says Leonardsen. See what others think here: Some think there will be a lot of snow in the winter if there are a lot of rowan berries on the trees, others think there will be little snow. Some people don’t believe the myth at all. We wondered what people in Gjøvik thought about the rowan berries myth. The myth has been tested So it’s time to get the conclusion. We contact a meteorologist. Hans Olav Hygen at the Meteorological Institute says the myth is that a lot of rowan berries produce little snow. But that is actually not true. – There is no connection between a lot of rowan berries in the summer and the fact that there will be little snow in the coming winter. Hygen explains that this weather myth has actually been tested. – Since this is a fairly well-known weather myth, investigations have been carried out into whether there are any connections between the amount of rowan berries in late summer and the amount of snow the following winter. No connection was found, says Hygen. He explains that the amount of rowan berries depends on completely different things than whether there is little snow. – The rowan trees depend on a good winter in order to survive, but the most important thing is the age of the trees, says the meteorologist. Meteorologist, Hans Olav Hygen has a clear opinion about why the myth has arisen. Photo: Vilde Jagland / Meteorological Institute Want to understand the connection But if it is not true, how do such myths actually arise? Meteorologist Hygen believes that the myth has arisen because people have a great need to understand relationships. – I think this myth has come about because people in snow-poor areas think back to the fact that there were a lot of rowan berries in the summer, and that this is probably why there is little snow this winter. In snowy areas it is the opposite, explains Hygen. Historian at the Norwegian Folk Museum, Ida Tolgensbakk reminds us that it is important to remember how people’s access to weather reports was in the past. – People had to use the weather signs they had available to try to understand the weather, she says. Historian at the Norwegian Folk Museum, Ida Tolgensbakk explains that there are certain geographical dividing lines in what people thought about rowan berries as a weather sign. Photo: Norsk Folkemuseum The historian says that it seems that the idea that a lot of roe is a sign of a snowy winter is connected to older legends. – It seems that people thought that the rowan trees had been promised by God that they would not bear heavy that same year, explains Tolgensbakk. On the other hand, there is no comprehensible explanation as to why it was also believed that it could portend a snowy winter. Geographical differences There are some clear geographical dividing lines as to where in the country people thought what the rowanberry season means about the amount of snow. – It seems that people thought it produced a snowy winter in Sørlandet and Rogaland, while it seems that it was the opposite in Møre and Romsdal, says Tolgensbakk. – In the rest of the country, such as in the interior, it seems that people are quite divided because we find stories from this county about rowan berries providing both a lot and a little snow, she says. Published 26/08/2024, at 20.33
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Many people think a lot of rowan berries will lead to little snow this coming winter – meteorologist gives us the facts – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
