Photo of snowy Sussex woodland trail Photo of snowy Sussex woodland trail

Saharan Dust Moon Halo

There was a 22 Degree halo around the moon a couple of nights ago.

This is a sign of cirrostratus, a high veil of icy cloud that often presages a front.

On its own it doesn’t mean bad weather is on its way, but when it comes after cirrus as this one did, then the probability of rain arriving within 24 hours shoots up.

There is a Native American saying that the sun or moon go into a tepee when rain is on the way.

Heavy rain started about 16 hours after I took this photo.

This particular halo was unusual in that it had an orange tint to it.

The colour was caused by dust and sand from the Sahara, suspended in an air mass that had travelled up from Africa.


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