Red sky in the morning...

[josko]

Can anyone explain the reasoning behind; 'Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.' What adverse weather phenomenon is forecast by a red glow in the morning?

I can see reason behind ; 'Red glow at night, sailors delight.' because a red sunset indicates an absence of clouds for quite a distance to the west, but a meteorological explanation for the 'dawn' phrase eludes me.

I underrstand the phase dates back to biblical times. Maybe it makes sense in the Middle East, but does a red dawn portend anything here in New England? I looked at Wikipedia, but their article doesn't really say much.

[kate]

this is a pretty clear explanation

glad you asked, because I didn't know either

[josko]

Thank you! Just what i was looking for.

[JohnHuth]

The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.

He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’

and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away

Matthew 16 1-4

Just in case you were curious.

[JohnHuth]

BTW, I haven't found the adage to be all that trustworthy - it's failed on many occasions. I've seen plenty of nice days after a red sunrise, and some bad weather after a red sunset. Generally, it's the coloration of clouds where the setting sun shines on the underside of the clouds, just at the horizon.

[josko]

Did anybody else notice how very red the dawn was this morning (2/18)? Over the horizon sun was reflecting very red off overrunning Stratus clouds. I don't think this quite fits with 'looking at a high' theory, but it was an exceptionally beautiful dawn ahead of some bad weather.

Edited February 18, 2014 by josko

[rfolster]

I have a good view from my home office of the sunrise through the trees, and I have seen a few beauties. This morning seemed very dark red, but I did not notice a spectacular show. I didn't get a picture of it, but I have gotten a couple of pics of some good sunrises that seem to fit John's observation that the adage doesn't always hold true:

This photo preceded a rather benign, albeit cloudy, day.

[josko]

Did anybody see the dawn today in Nantucket sound? About as red as I've ever seen it. Clear sky in the east, and overrunning stratus clouds somehow created a red waveguide. Don't think it had anything to do with atmospheric dust in the instance, but the high stratus cloudcover worked to reflect and intensify the red color. There IS a storm coming, and the redness was accentuated with high storm clouds.

[Pintail]

Curiously, in the UK, the old adage is to do with shepherds and not sailors...thus "Red sky at night, shepherds delight; red sky in the morning, shepherds warning..."

[alec]

My father always said it as "Sunset at night, shepherds delight; sunset in the morning, shepherds warning." Very true words.