The quote "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning" is apt for today as the Metservice have issued a severe weather watch for Coromandel, the Western Bay of Plenty and other regions.

The rhyme has been used for weather forecasting over hundreds of years and is based on the red glow of the morning.

In the morning this can indicate that there is high water content in the atmosphere, so rain could be on its way.

Shakespeare may have heard of this saying as he wrote in his play Venus and Adonis:

"Like a red morn that ever yet betokened,

Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field,

Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds,

Gusts and foul flaws to herdsmen and to herds."

For the rest of our weather wrap and this day in history check out the video, and just in case, batten down the hatches!