The Tower of Weather

Speaking of the always changing weather, Boston has its own unique meterologist, which is not named Dick Albert or Barry Burbank. Now, Bostonist knows that many of you already know of this weather signal, but for those of you who are new to Boston and need a quick weather check, just look up to the top of the old John Hancock Tower. This building (now known as the Berkeley Tower after a taller, more dominant John Hancock Tower was built in 1968) has a light on top, which depending on the incoming weather pattern, will tell you what to expect. It has been in operation since 1950 and is pretty accurate. Bostonist was trying to recall the little poem that helps Bostonians keep the signals clear:

Steady blue, clear view
Flashing blue, clouds due
Steady red, rain ahead
Flashing red, snow instead.

And if you see the flashing red in the summer, it means the Sox game has been cancelled. The weather beacon added another color for the first time since it began, flashing red and blue in October 2004 to celebrate the Sox winning the World Series. This line was then added to the poem: "Flashing Blue and Red, when The Curse of the Bambino is dead!" Based on the forecast for tonight, it looks like it'll only be flashing straight red. Don't you just love the weather here?

Photo courtesy of the AP.