When I was a kid in Oklahoma, I was taught to always watch the sky when playing outside. I was told to look for clouds that are growing taller or forming a wall (cumulonimbus clouds that turn into wall clouds). This can happen very quickly so we always had to be aware of the sky. I still watch cloud formations and have gotten pretty good at predicting coming weather. Driving down the highway, you can watch the leaves of certain trees as they turn over - it is a pretty good predictor of rain. If it is accompanied by strong wind, a storm is forming.
