Red Sky At Night, Sailor's Delight

And then, of course, they go on to say “red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!” Shakespeare mentioned it in “Venus and Adonis”. Even Jesus said it. “When in evening ye say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.”

But why? And is this a true weather predictor? Now that I live on the shore and am witness to such colorful spectacles, I have become all the more curious.

So, ready for a little physics lesson? We see the sky as red in the morning and evening because the sun is low in the sky and the atmosphere is at its thickest, filled with water vapor and particles. The sun’s electromagnetic light rays pass through and are immediately ordered into their spectral divisions. They don’t even “Pass Go”! Red, being the longest wavelength makes it through, while the blues are broken up and scattered in smithereens.
Usually, weather moves from west to east, blown by westerly trade winds. This means storm systems generally move in from the west.

When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

This colorful post is based on an article from “Everyday Mysteries” from the Library of Congress. And if it’s information from our government, it HAS to be true.