Red sky at Night Norwegian Delight

February 13, 2010
| 31 Comments

Winter, clear sky, cold fresh and crisp air in the afternoon in Norway gives magical, red scenery in the horizon. When I came home from work and looked out of the window, this is what was bursting in front of me:

Red sky at Night Norwegian Delight #1

Right away, I was thinking of the old adage: “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning”. Is it true, or is it just an old wives’ tale? Well, I guess it’s true within limits or at least admit the view is breathtaking:
Red sky at Night Norwegian Delight #2 Red sky at Night Norwegian Delight #3

I consulted Wikipedia on this and found that it was a wide spread saying – not only a comfort to the Norwegian Vikings:

In North America:
Red sky at night, sailor’s delight,
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

In the United Kingdom:
Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight,
Red sky in morning, shepherds warning.

As well as other variations, such as this one from Denmark/Norway, which translates to “Morning red gives wet days, Evening red gives sweet days”:
Morgenrøde gir dage bløde.
Kveldsrøde gir dage søde.

Italian variation goes as:
Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera,
rosso di mattina mal tempo si avvicina.

A Dutch variation is:
Avondrood, morgen mooi weer aan bood,
Ochtendrood, vanavond water in de sloot.

But can weather lore truly predict the weather or seasons?

Red sky at night, sailors delight:
When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning:
A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

In between this lore and academic explanation, there is still an amazing scenery ……..

Red sky at Night Norwegian Delight #4

…. and it’s also a romantic scene for Valentine’s Day and of course the Chinese New Year!

Nature, Winter