Predict weather with a cup of coffee

The weather in April can be wishy-washy.  One day it’s sunny, warm and beautiful, the next day rain and thunderstorms may break the day.  No wonder the month of April is termed as the month of dust storms and pre monsoon showers by weathermen. Pop up showers and thunderstorms during April often ruin your outdoor plans of eating chaat and momos with friends and family.. But not anymore, what if we told you, you could predict the weather using your morning cup of coffee? i.e. incase you don’t find access to our forecasts..

Yes, it could be possible. Your morning cup of coffee may help you predict the coming rain. It’s a trick used by backpackers that can come in handy if you’re planning to go traveling to the outdoor without any internet or phone access that can tell you about the day’s weather. Pour a cup of coffee and carefully watch the bubbles. Try this,

Pour your coffee into a cup and then stare at the bubbles.

If the bubbles amass in the center, you’re in a high-pressure system, which is making the coffee’s surface convex or higher in the middle. Since bubbles are mostly air, they migrate to the highest point. So it’s going to be a beautiful day!

If the bubbles move to the edge of the cup rather quickly, it’s a good sign again. Expect clear skies for the next 12 hours.

But if the bubbles form a ring around the sides of the mug, you’re in a low-pressure system, making the surface concave. You can then expect rain in 12 hours and you can start packing your rain gear!

If the bubbles slowly move to the edge of the cup, you may get a bit of weather, but it should be clearing in a few hours.

Note: Your cup of coffee has to be strong and brewed, to have enough oil to work. The coffee mug too must have straight sides.

If you've managed to make a cup without bubbles, flop a spoonful of coffee back into your cup and make some more bubbles.

Well, the theory behind this trick is that high pressure will push the bubbles to the edge, and high pressure indicates a period of sunny, calm weather. Low pressure won't move the bubbles and low pressure systems typically bring unsettled weather.

How true is it?

Most believe it isn’t. They argue that there are so many variables when making coffee that the above experiment can’t entirely be true. Temperature of water, type of coffee, concentration of coffee etc., when combined with the high pressure, bubbles will push to the edge, so it can be illogical to link the position of the bubbles to the weather at all.

Either way, it is an interesting trick that you might like to try on your next outdoor trek! And even if it doesn’t work, you can just use it as an excuse to have another steaming cup of strong, brewed coffee..