Sun halos, arcs and upside-down rainbows seen across England

BBC
Sat, 27 May 2023 14:01 UTC

A halo, with sun dogs and tangent arcs, was spotted over the Headland in Hartlepool by Ash Foster

Much of northern England enjoyed a rare optical display on Sunday evening.

Thin, high cloud gave a spectacular show of halos, arcs and upside-down rainbows across the North East and Cumbria, not often seen together in the UK.

The phenomena are caused by sunlight reflecting and refracting through ice crystals high in the atmosphere.

BBC Look North weather presenter Jennifer Bartram said it was "very unusual".

"The particular angle at which the sunlight hits these high-up ice crystals form these patterns," she said.

"It's a real delight to see."

The rings around the Sun are known as halos and have a reddish tinge on the inner edge.

Halos gave the perfect frame around the Angel of the North, spotted by Andy Gowland

Though halos are not uncommon in the UK, the combination of other optical effects is more unusual.

© Daniel McTiernan

The unusual solar effects shone over Whitley Bay on Sunday.

One of the more unusual features spotted was an upside-down rainbow, known as a cirumzenithal arc.

It is also known as a Bravais' arc, and is formed when sunlight enters horizontal ice crystals and refracts through a side prism face, which causes the upside-down effect.

A bright circumzenithal arc spotted in Stanwix, Cumbria, by Weather Watcher Ravi

Steven Lomas captured the stunning spectacle over Souter Point lighthouse

Also visible were a range of other effects, including parhelia - or sun dogs - which appear as bright patches either side of the sun.

A rare sighting of halos, arcs and sun dogs were spotted in Whale, just outside Penrith, by Kim Skelton