Jurik Müller: A Weather Authority Rooted in Tradition
Weather Expert Jurik Müller - Collector of Climate Memories - Environmental Protection Proposal Requested from Commission for Potential New Directive
For Jurik Müller, a retired meteorologist from Germany, the question of tomorrow's weather has been a lifelong fascination. He keeps weather journals of his own and studied meteorology in Berlin. Müller spent his professional career at the German Weather Service in Halle and Leipzig.
Beyond modern forecasting methods, Müller developed a keen appreciation for centuries-old farmers' weather-predicting rules. "The genius of these sayings is that they are easy to remember, applicable, and can be passed down orally," explains Müller. His interest in these old adages began after writing an article for a newspaper in 1978, and he went on to amass over 10,000 such sayings in his collection.
In addition, Müller crafted his own farmers' rules, based on his weather observations. One such rule reads: "If the cow turns its tail from east to west, the weather won't be at its best." Müller believes that this indicates a wind shift from east to west, a factor often associated with deteriorating weather.
Müller wrote four books on farmers' rules, the most popular being "100 Farmers' Rules That Really Work" published in 2011, with a total of 15,000 copies printed. These rules were a combination of old sayings and his own insights, such as "If the cow's milk curdles in the afternoon, expect thunderstorms in the evening."
One of Müller's most notable works was the "Angler's Weather" service, a tabular tool that predicted the so-called biting index for 17 common fish species. This service ranged from zero for poor conditions to ten for excellent conditions. Although traditionally associated with Jurik Müller, he is not a widely recognized scientific authority on fishing or weather science. The biting index concept is a common element found in many fishing forecasts.
Community policy should consider incorporating Müller's farmers' rules into vocational training programs for future meteorologists and fishermen, ensuring environmental-science students are well-versed in traditional weather-prediction methods as well as modern science. Vocational training in environmental-science could also benefit from the inclusion of Müller's weather observations and the creation of new farmers' rules, offering students a unique blend of past and present weather knowledge.
