You might have heard of this old country folklore quote before. It relates to the ring or "halo" often seen around the moon on clear(ish) winter nights.
Last night (as in the changed date and time of this post), we were sitting in the garden and I noticed a spectacularly clear "far-ring" (near rain)! The photo below is of a "near-ring" actually, but you get the idea...
"Moon rings" are caused by moonlight (reflected sunlight of course) being refracted through tiny ice-crystals in high atmosphere cirrus clouds. A ring far away from the moon suggests rain within 12 hours or so; a ring nearer the moon suggests heavier rain in 2 or 3 days. Some people have suggested that the number of stars held within a moon ring gives an approximation of days left before the rain arrives, which is more nonsensical, although a bit of fun!I write this at 7am the next morning, (8 hours after we were looking at the 'far ring') and we've already had heavy rain, hail and thunder.
"Far ring - Near rain".
Oooh-Arrrh me babbers...
[On the subject of the moon, Britain is due a total lunar eclipse on Saturday night. These events are not rare, though this WILL be the only total lunar eclipse in Britain, this year. The weather looks set fair on Saturday night (at present) , so get out and watch it!]
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