VIDEO: Rare sun halo rainbow spotted over Lincoln City

Josh Cozart
·1 min read

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s not always a sight one gets to see as an approaching storm brings a thin layer of cirrus clouds to the Oregon Coast. A rare sun halo with rainbow colors was spotted just after noon on Wednesday.

<em>KOIN 6 Meteorologist Josh Cozart spots Lincoln City, Ore. sun halo Wednesday, December 13, 2023</em>
KOIN 6 Meteorologist Josh Cozart spots Lincoln City, Ore. sun halo Wednesday, December 13, 2023

How sun halos form

These rare meteorological optical phenomena occur when a thin layer of clouds moves past the sun. These clouds are known as cirrus clouds and are typically made up of tiny ice particles. It’s these ice crystals that are key to giving the sky this type of optical event.

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<em>How sundogs form with passing light through small ice crystals in cirrus clouds</em>
How sundogs form with passing light through small ice crystals in cirrus clouds

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While Wednesday’s sun halo wasn’t a complete halo, it did lean towards the rare side of the spectrum. The National Weather Service explains that sun halos are typically a halo around the sun or moon that is white. Occasionally, the halo gives off a rainbow appearance. That’s due to the ice crystals in the cirrus clouds refracting the light that passes through them. This is similar to how sundogs form on either side of the sun.

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