Short answer, yes, you can tell some things from the sky, wind, and watching the animals around you.

Long answer, I can't even begin to explain a lifetime of training from grandparents, parents and my own knowledge, not to mention that having lived in alberta, NWT, Nunaut and now Ontario, that you have to re-learn certain things depending on where you live, based on the geogophy of the area you live in..

A perfect example would be where I lived in alberta, if I got wind from a certain direction, it would be a shnook wind bringing good weather with it, and warmer temps, that same wind direction in Iqaluit would be off the bay and would be bringing in some major storms/drops in temp, and now in ontario, I rarely get wind from that same direction, but when I do! it almost always means rain/storms as it a direct path from the lakes to my area, where as normally my winds come across, instead of up the valley, which create different weather patterns..

So my answer to you is, go to the libary and get out a few basic books on cloud/storm/weather patterns, then get a book or two on how global weather patterns are done, once you have the basic's, start studying your area, keep a journal if you need to to start seeing patterns, look at the wind, the sky and the clouds, the temp etc and then make your judgement, then see what comes of it..

As a farm example, if we are going to get a short burst of rain, you will see the grazing animals heading to the barn, but if we are going to get light steady rain, or all day rain, the critters will either stay out or be out in it.. being able to read them, helps me plan my own response..

Short answer, yes, you can tell some things from the sky, wind, and watching the animals around you.

Long answer, I can't even begin to explain a lifetime of training from grandparents, parents and my own knowledge, not to mention that having lived in alberta, NWT, Nunaut and now Ontario, that you have to re-learn certain things depending on where you live, based on the geogophy of the area you live in..

A perfect example would be where I lived in alberta, if I got wind from a certain direction, it would be a shnook wind bringing good weather with it, and warmer temps, that same wind direction in Iqaluit would be off the bay and would be bringing in some major storms/drops in temp, and now in ontario, I rarely get wind from that same direction, but when I do! it almost always means rain/storms as it a direct path from the lakes to my area, where as normally my winds come across, instead of up the valley, which create different weather patterns..

So my answer to you is, go to the libary and get out a few basic books on cloud/storm/weather patterns, then get a book or two on how global weather patterns are done, once you have the basic's, start studying your area, keep a journal if you need to to start seeing patterns, look at the wind, the sky and the clouds, the temp etc and then make your judgement, then see what comes of it..

As a farm example, if we are going to get a short burst of rain, you will see the grazing animals heading to the barn, but if we are going to get light steady rain, or all day rain, the critters will either stay out or be out in it.. being able to read them, helps me plan my own response..

Thank you very much sir.

Also preceding most storms are feather clouds, light wispy clouds that look like feathers. Watch silver birches, their leaves will turn 2-4 hours before a rain. At least, those have been my observations.

Extreme weather can be a danger to all of us and the more informed we are the better. There are free training sessions that are held around the Province every year. They are very well presented and very worthwhile. Also these sessions will inform you on how to get advanced warnings of severe weather. For more information use the following link:
http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/canwarn/home-e.html