Times of the Islands Fall 2020

Meteorological optics are patterns in the sky that are
observable to the naked eye. Specifically, the interaction
of the visible light we see with water vapor and other
particulates in the atmosphere. Sun angle has to do with
the varying types of phenomena that we see in any given
scenario as well.
You will likely find that the majority of these optics
tend to occur when the sun is lower in the sky during
the mid-morning and late afternoon/early evening hours.
Lower sun angles allow for a longer stream of light to be
seen by the human eye. Think of it like a flashlight. When
a flashlight shines at an object that is close and at a 90º
angle to the flashlight, the light will be focused intensely
on that one spot with a short beam of light visible. Move
the flashlight double/triple the distance away, and turn
the object at a 45º angle to the flashlight and you will
discover more of the surface of the object is illuminated,
but with a softer focus, and a longer beam length that is
visible to the eye. It is in similar setups where we get to
see some of our coolest weather phenomena.
During our time in Oklahoma, we lived in a community
surrounded by winter wheat fields. We also sat in the
middle of “tornado alley,” which meant thunderstorms
were a good bet on many days of the Spring and early
Summer. I remember being outside and watching these
behemoths swallow the rolling hills in their dark, foreboding
embrace. But on occasion, especially late in the
afternoon, I would be treated to a burst of light through
the darkness thanks to holes in the cloud deck around the
thunderstorm. These are sunbeams. Thanks to varying
amounts of water vapor in the atmosphere and the angle
of the sun and depending on the time of day, these rays
pour down on the landscape below with varying intensity
and beauty. They will appear quite wide at the base and
narrow toward the source they are focused through in
the cloud. When occurring late in the afternoon, these
beams fill a much larger area over the surface, providing
for a more spectacular effect. Be on the lookout for these
in the Turks & Caicos Islands, as we have seen these on
North Caicos during periods of thunderstorms.
More common throughout the Islands during the
year are crepuscular rays. The word “crepuscular” comes
from the Latin word crepusculum which means twilight.
As the Latin meaning implies, these rays tend to occur
late in the day before sunset while the sun is low on the
horizon. In order for these rays to be really noticeable,
there needs to be intermittent clouds between the viewer
and the sun. How dramatic the effect is will be based on
how close the clouds are to the observer. When clouds
are quite close, the effect occurs nearly overhead in
many cases and makes it harder to see/view. The best
optics occur when the clouds are well out to sea with
the sun setting behind them. This is the time rays can
be quite spectacular. As the sun hits these clouds, shadows
develop in the foreground of the cloud, blocking
out sections of light which allows for the appearance of
Spotting the elusive Green Flash as the sun sets over the ocean is a wonderous event.
MARTA MORTON–WWW.HARBOURCLUBVILLAS.COM
20 www.timespub.tc