Here you see Naskeag Harbor on the day before the recent rains and high winds came. That day had darkened and become very still, creating the kind of indirest northern light and reflective waters that often are associated with Maine winters.
Thinking of this still, almost eerie day now made me wonder about the origins of the popular saying about “the calm before the storm.” That saying often is used figuratively to describe a time of peaceful harmony before harmful chaos.
It’s first known metaphorical use reportedly was during the 1600s in the English play “The Dumb Knight”: “[B]ut hush, no words; there is calm before the tempest.” By the 20th Century, the word “storm” was used more often in the metaphor than its older form “tempest” and the word “lull” was sometimes used instead of “calm.”
But the saying, which reportedly originated with sailors, actually has a basis in science. Before many (but not all) storms, especially those at sea, there can be a calming effect on an area. I’m not sure that I fully understand how this happens, but the process apparently involves the physics of warmer, moist air being sucked upward to cool and condense before being transformed into precipitation. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on January 9, 2024.)