A Storm’s A Brewin’
Last night on our way out the door to dinner we looked up at the moon and noticed something we’d never seen before – a halo. A big, huge ring around the moon. “Google it!” I immediately exclaimed.
A minute later, we learned that the halo effect is caused by light refracting through ice crystals formed in high-level cirrus clouds. It’s believed to signify that bad weather is on the way. Furthermore, the number of stars that can be seen within the halo is supposed to indicate the number of days before the storm is to arrive. There was some debate among us – I counted 5, Dave counted 4, Dave’s dad counted 5.
“What if one is a planet?” I asked. Our collective astronomical knowledge is not, well, astronomical, so we settled on 4. That would put the storm arriving Thursday-Friday, which is actually not too far off from what the weather forecasts are saying.
So, after a snowless winter, it looks like a storm’s a brewin’. For real, this time.
Ring around the moon. (photo from ksl.com)
