Our weather watchers Tracy Blocker, Diane Berthelot and Davis Hotard shared pictures of an interesting weather phenomenon that occurred Friday afternoon. They witnessed a “sundog.” For many centuries, traditional weather forecasters used sundogs as an indicator of rain. Water vapor above 50,000 feet freezes and forms ice crystals. The frozen crystals act as prisms. When sunlight or moonlight passes through them, the light is bent or slightly refracts, resulting in a halo. At various points of the halo, brighter patches form and these are referred to as sundogs, parhelia or mock suns. Haloes and sundogs are common in polar regions but are also seen in lower latitudes. Sunlight is split into the colors of the spectrum, forming in the same manner as a rainbow.
Fastcast: Hot.
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