Here’s why Kamloops and Okanagan sunrises and sunsets are often so spectacular

The Thompson and Okanagan valleys are made for beautiful sunrise and sunset skies.

Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist says the sky colours during those periods of the day “can be incredible,” such as the one many Okanagan residents experienced Tuesday morning, Nov. 3.

READ MORE: iN PHOTOS: Amazing sunrise inspires local photographers

The reason behind those beautiful beginnings and ends of the day are largely due to our mountainous terrain, Lundquist says.

“It’s partly because we get cloud coming in bands into the interior. The mountains get in the way and break the cloud up. It’s kind of like shrapnel,” he says.

When a weather system hits the coast, it remains intact, but by the time it gets to us, it’s been torn apart by the mountains in between.

The spectacular colours such as those seen Tuesday morning are due to the sun rising or setting, shining up from below the mountains onto the surface of the clouds. Sunlight is being filtered through “a lot of atmosphere” at that point, and that gives the bottom of our valley clouds their reddish hue.

“The colours are an artifact of breaks in the clouds and the sun shining on it from below,” Lundquist says.

The meteorologist says there is some truth to the old adage, “Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning,” but the truth mostly applies to the ocean.

“Over the ocean, a system moves in and clouds thicken and thicken. It eventually turns rainy. The sun rises in the east, most of our systems come from the west, so the rising sun shines on incoming cloud, creating a red sky indicative of an approaching weather front," Lundquist says.

However, he says it doesn’t really work that way in the B.C. interior. The cloud breaks up due to the rainshadow effect, and we don’t always get rain when a system moves in.

Donna McNab sent this image of the Nov. 3 sunrise. | Credit: SUBMITTED / Donna McNab


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Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

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