Would you trust a winter forecast based on worms and spider webs?
On this date in 2000, Tennessee lost Helen Lane, the remarkable weather forecaster who used old-fashioned observations of nature to make predictions — and became nationally known.
Plus the local news for February 17, 2026 and a feature on a local rapper who contains multitudes.
Related reading:
- WDEF archives: Winter Forecasting with Helen Lane (1990)
- TIME Magazine: Watch for Huddling Spiders (1998)
- Legislative resolution honoring Helen Lane (2000)
Credits:
This is a production of Nashville Public Radio.
Host/producer: Tony Gonzalez
Editor: LaTonya Turner
Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Megan Jones and the staff of WPLN and WNXP
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM