Many people who have had a knock to the head or a hard jolt in a crash say their headaches seem to follow the weather. A grey, heavy morning feels worse. A sharp drop in temperature brings the pressure back. Some people notice this clearly, and others never do. Either way, a few weeks of plain notes can give your examiner something concrete to look at.
Why Bother With Weather Notes
Headache pain is hard to remember accurately, especially when the days blur together. A written record turns a vague sense that things feel worse on rainy days into a list you can read in a minute. It also keeps you from guessing. If you only remember the bad days, the weather may look more connected than it really is. A daily log shows the quiet days too.
What to Write Each Day
Keep one line per day. Write the date, the time you woke up, and how your head felt on a simple scale that you choose and use every day. Then note the sky: clear, cloudy, fog, rain, or storms. Add the air: heavy and humid, dry, cold, or windy. If you checked a forecast that morning, write down whether it mentioned a change in pressure or a front moving through. Finish with one line about what you did that day.
The St. Louis Factor
The St. Louis metro sees a wide range of conditions through the year, from humid summer afternoons to cold snaps and fast-moving fronts in the cooler months. Late October often brings chilly mornings and milder afternoons, and some people find those swings harder to handle than steady weather. Keep your log running through the changes rather than waiting for a calm week.
Separate the Weather From Everything Else
Weather rarely works alone. A rainy day can also mean less walking, a later bedtime, skipped meals, more time indoors on screens, or a stressful drive. If you only track the sky, you may blame the weather for something that came from your routine. Add a short note for sleep, meals, screen time, and any trip out of the house. When you look back, you can see which days had several things going on at once.
What a Log Can and Cannot Do
A log describes a pattern. It does not name a cause, and it does not replace an examination. Only a clinician who sees you in person can weigh your notes against your history and decide what they mean. Please do not change or stop any medicine you already take because of a weather pattern you noticed. Bring the question to your appointment instead.
A log can also help you say things clearly. Instead of saying that you feel bad on cloudy days, you can say that the headache started the morning after a front moved through, lasted most of the afternoon, and eased after you lay down in a dark room. Specific sentences like that are easier to act on.
Bringing It to Your Visit
Copy the log onto one or two pages. Put the most important days at the top and circle any that stand out, especially days when your headache changed in a way you did not expect. Include a line about any new trouble with vision, speech, balance, or strength, and when it started. If symptoms are sudden, severe, or getting worse, do not wait for a scheduled visit. Seek urgent care right away.
Keep the original log too. Your examiner may ask to look at a week or a month of entries, and the full sheet is more useful than a summary written in a hurry.
Start tomorrow morning. One line a day is enough, and a few weeks of honest notes will give you more to talk about than any single memory of a bad afternoon.