Did You See The Ring Around The Moon This Morning?

By this morning I mean when it was dark and if you're reading this after the sun has come up then you've already missed it. The sky conditions across Acadiana this morning created a phenomenon known as a "Lunar Halo" or a ring around the moon.

What actually is going on is the moonlight that we see is being filtered through ice crystals high in the atmosphere. These crystals bend and shape the beams of light and ultimately focus them into what appears to be a ring or halo around the moon. The Old Farmer's Almanac explains what is happening in a much more in depth and scientific way than I ever could.

There is an old wives tale that states by counting the stars contained within the ring around the moon you can predict how many days away the next significant rainfall will be.  That tale also has some scientific background to go along with it.  Most of the clouds that feature ice crystals as part of their make up are the cirrus and cirrostratus clouds. These cloud formations are usually a precursor to unsettled weather regardless of how the moonlight is shining through them.

In case you were wondering the KATC 8 Day Forecast does not show a major upheaval in the area weather in the form of precipitation but there is a decided cold snap headed our way by early Thursday morning.