You may have noticed a strange ring around the moon tonight.  We’ve already received a number of calls from viewers noticing the same thing.  Here’s the explanation.  The ring is caused by the refraction of moonlight (which is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.  The hexagonal shape of these crystals is focusing the light into a ring.

Here’s a bit of weather folklore that relates directly with the ring around the moon.  It’s said the ring signifies bad weather is coming.  There is a bit of truth to that.  If you’ve been watching the forecast, you know rain is on the way.  The approaching front typically creates more cirrus clouds which are made of ice crystals.  So actually, the ring around the moon is a pretty good indicator of approaching rain.

Have a great week!

James-Paul Dice
Fox 6 Chief Meteorologist
james.dice@wbr.com

Filed under: Birmingham, Columbus, Huntsville, Montgomery, Rain, Regions, Weather Facts