The eyes of many Austrians were turned to the sky last night: during a thunderstorm the sky suddenly turned red; this natural spectacle could be observed mainly in the Salzkammergut. But what is behind this weather phenomenon? The “Krone” spoke to a meteorologist.
Anyone who wanted to watch this natural spectacle was not allowed to sit in front of the television: the sky in the Salzkammergut turned red for less than twenty minutes at 8 p.m. All this could also be seen above Salzburg. A very intense color that you rarely see. At the same time, some lightning flashed and it also started to drizzle, which created a rainbow.
The sky glow has something to do with the sun
Why did the sky suddenly glow so beautifully? There is a weather phenomenon behind it, as Christian Ortner from GeoSphere Austria in Salzburg explains: “What is behind it is generally clear. The position of the sun was very low, it was already evening. There was also a lot of high cloud. And the clouds are simply illuminated by the setting sun. The extreme red is because the sun was extremely low or just above the horizon,” explains the meteorologist. He himself witnessed this phenomenon in the city of Salzburg and was just as enthusiastic about it as many others.
The expert explains why this is the case: “Light has a longer path through the atmosphere. It is scattered by the thicker atmosphere, and then all that remains is a red color.”
No major thunderstorms, but lightning still caused fires
This kind of thing rarely happens, says the meteorologist in an interview with the ‘Krone’: ‘Everything just has to be a bit right with the cloud cover.’ In general, it was quite calm last night. “In terms of precipitation, it was not really tragic in Upper Austria. There were huge thunderstorms in the Pongau and Pinzgau in Salzburg, including hail. Otherwise, there were only remnants of thunderstorms in Upper Austria that passed through. In the Salzkammergut, it rained very lightly. In the first half of the night, there was more activity in the Innviertel,” says Ortner. However, lightning strikes caused two fires in Fraham and the Mühlviertel in Upper Austria.
What about the weather? Heavy thunderstorms are expected tonight. In the lowlands, it should not be before sunset, in the mountains, it should be lightning and rain from 5 p.m. Ortner: “There is a lot of energy in the air, and the air is also very moist and it is very humid. That promotes everything.”
Swimming weather again on Sunday?
Ortner expects the daytime to remain very warm in the coming days, although thunderstorms will continue to pass by. The weatherman expects thunderstorms and a drop to 25 degrees for Saturday morning. Ortner also does not expect higher temperatures on Sunday.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
