How to predict the temperature with a cricket

It’s a sound most of Missouri is all too familiar with - the constant chirping of crickets. Some find it a nuisance, others find it peaceful. 

Did you know that a cricket’s chirping could also come in handy? Tonight, by using a simple formula, you could calculate the temperature outside just through the song of crickets.

"It's a direct relationship, a one on one relationship, the warmer it is, the faster the cricket can chirp," Kevin Lohraff, Missouri Department of Conservation Nature Center Manager, said.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, crickets are ectothermic, which means they're cold-blooded. Their body temperature will correspond with whatever the temperature of their environment is.

It takes energy to power many of the biological processes of a cricket, and heat is a form of energy. So, when the temperature fluctuates, that directly affects how well these processes can take place.

According to NOAA, this was discovered in 1897 by Physicist Amos Dolbear. He found that you can count the number of chirps per 14-15 seconds, add 40, and you'll have the temperature outside in degrees Fahrenheit.

Is this value exact? Not necessarily, but it gives you an idea of how warm it is outside.

Next time you don't have a thermometer near you, consider listening to your local cricket weather report.