Do you ever feel like your head is going to split open or that it is a balloon ready to pop? Does your head ever hurt before a storm? Does it get better once the rain comes? Have you ever noticed that when the atmospheric pressure changes that you can feel it? Our state was like many states due to the water shortage. We just did not have rain for weeks and weeks. I did not have headaches during that time either. We really needed rain because our reservoirs were very low and the situation was getting desperate. Places that were supposed to hot and dry throughout our country were having floods, but not our place.

Then all of a sudden, I started having headaches again. The weather was changing and the nights were getting cool. I started feeling like my head was going to pop when all of a sudden we got rain. About 5 inches feel over a 3 day period and my head hurt the full time. It was like my skull was a barometer and when the pressure started changing to indicate a storm was coming, I could tell. I would know before the weather man would tell us that we were going to get rain.

My father used to say that when he was a boy he could tell when it was going to rain because all the cows in the fields would start mooing and just lie down in the pastures. It was always a funny image in my mind that they would be affected by a storm that was approaching and just lie down and moo. During this last big rain storm, I did not think it was so funny when that was all I wanted to do, too.

It is pretty amazing that many people carry their own personal barometer in their skulls. During this last rainstorm, I found out that many people were also having serious headaches. My doctor said that many headaches are caused by weather changes, which can also cause migraines. But THAT is for another day!

Even with the 5 inches of rain we got over the last few weeks, the water tables are still low, so I guess we can all expect to have more headaches. It also means that the cows will be lying around in the pastures and mooing. Now that I have recognized some of the symptoms of a rainy headache, I find it interesting to look at other animal's behavior when the storms come. I have dogs and cats become restless and move around, like they are trying to get comfortable. While I was lying around pampering my head, my kitty was also sleeping more than usual.

I have noticed that birds are not bothered at all by the rain or storms. They continue to fly around in the rain. That is pretty curious, too, as you would think it would be hard to fly when their feathers get wet, but it doesn't seem to bother them. I have even seen hummingbirds pick up the number of times they go to a feeder, both before a storm and during it. It is interesting to realize that when the barometer changes so many humans are affected by the storm that is approaching. Do you think it would affect everyone the same when the rain turns to ice or snow? I know it does for me, but it sure feels much better once the rain stops.