During the warm months, we watch the snails here. If they are climbing, rain is on the way, usually within 2 weeks. The higher they go, the worse the flooding will be. We watch the mesquites here in the fall. The heavier the bark on the north side, the colder the winter. In the summer, we watch the oaks. If the branches hang low, it's going to be hot/dry. We pretty much know about 2 weeks ahead of any flooding up north. In the spring if we have high winds from the southeast, meaning it's coming off of the coast, with LOTS of heavy clouds heading north for over a week, somebody, usually Missouri-Ohio are is going to get flooded. Hopefully I can report that this next spring as I understand it's pretty dry up there.