Metaphysics & Psychology

Man can predict weather with phantom smells

By T.K. Randall
September 5, 2013 ·  6 comments

The man can 'smell' storms before they happen. Image Credit: CC 2.0 Christopher Woo A study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology has detailed the unusual case of the 64-year-old Parkinson's disease sufferer whose smell hallucinations seem directly connected to the weather. While up to a third of Parkinson's sufferers tend to experience some form of hallucinations, the predictive nature of the ones being experienced in this case are somewhat unique.The unnamed patient's phantosmia is said to intensify approximately 2-3 hours before a storm and ranges from the smell of burnt wood to a chronic stench not dissimilar to that of a skunk. Described as the "first reported case of weather-induced exacerbation of phantosmia," the phantom smells seem to quickly disappear again once the storm has passed.

Researchers attempting to explain this predictive ability have looked at several factors, such as air pressure, but to date the exact mechanism through which the man's unique ability manifests itself is not yet fully understood.

Source: Smithsonian | Comments (6)

Tags: Prediction, Parkinson's, Weather