The Lower Mainland has some fairly spellbinding sunsets during the warmer months, but not all appear similar.
According to Environment Canada Meteorologist Matt Loney, no two sunsets are the same, similar to snowflakes. Mother Nature's kaleidoscopic paintbrush picks up a multitude of hues, with light refracting off cloud crystals.
V.I.A. reporter Elana Shepert captured a video from a car of the sun before it set in the evening of Monday, June 23. The centre appears bright yellow with an orange-red colour surrounding it, almost flame-like. Greyish-blue clouds seem to drift overhead.
Loney says the watercolour effect occurs before the sun reaches the horizon, when the light refracts several layers of the cloud deck rather than just the ice crystals in the cirrus (the highest cloud level in the upper atmosphere).
"Varying layers of clouds, with some thicker ones, are partially veiling the sun and framing it," he explains.
Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes optimal sunset-viewing conditions
Environment Canada reported significant moisture in the upper troposphere on Monday, providing ideal conditions for ice crystal development. However, visibility was clear in the lower part, which may have created the hazy view of the sun.
Loney noted the sun only has this "mirage-like" effect as it begins to set. Once it reaches the horizon, the light only reflects the cirrus. The ice crystal refraction from the upper cloud deck is responsible for a sunset's multicoloured hues.
The sun's direct line to the cirrus is interrupted by other lower cloud levels before it reaches the horizon; it has a "muted effect" and its edges aren't clearly defined, he explains.
"Every sunset is different," he underscores.
This week's Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes a stretch of sunshine with temperatures climbing several degrees above the seasonal average.
Stay up-to-date with hyperlocal forecasts across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
