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Why Michigan’s winter skies sometimes turn pink or orange

Pink skies in Metro Detroit. (WDIV)

What’s pink and orange and posted all over Facebook? Sunrises and sunsets from the past few days!

But why are we being treated to such an amazing technicolor display? Well it comes from what most people are complaining about…our insanely cold weather!

In the summertime, there’s a lot of humidity and water vapor in the air. In the winter, cold fronts, like the ones we’ve have recently, usher in very cold, very dry air that allows light to come through and then become refracted by water droplets in the clouds.

The placement of the jet stream is also key. The location of the jet (a fast flowing ribbon of air) relative to Michigan, pushes the clouds higher in the atmosphere in the winter.

Those high clouds tend to catch the lower wavelength colors like orange, red and yellow. The higher the clouds, the more vivid the display.

My son just got his driver’s permit so I was able to catch a few shots of the sky as a passenger just after the Lions game Sunday night. Would love to see your sunrise sunset pictures!

---> Upload your weather MIPics here


About the Author
Kim Adams headshot

Emmy-award winning Meteorologist Kim Adams rejoined the 4Warn Weather Team in August 2022. You can watch her on the 4, 5, 6, 10 & 11 p.m. newscasts. You can also find her on your cell phone, tablet, computer (by downloading the 4Warn Weather app), Click on Detroit, and Local 4+.

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