Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Weather News /

    What's that cloud? An angelic phenomenon

10:01
5 August 2022

What's that cloud?
An angelic phenomenon

Sun halo
© Zsolt Goldman

Weather & Radar user Zsolt Goldman captured this fantastic image of a halo around the sun in Torbay, Devon.

A sun halo, or '22 degree halo' is an optical phenomenon produced by sunlight interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere.

The ice crystals are often hexagonal in shape and found within high cirrus, or cirrostratus clouds, at an altitude of over 6,000 metres. Depending on how the light is dispersed through the ice crystals, the halo may appear white, or rainbow coloured.

According to folklore should you spot a halo around the sun, rain may fall within the next 24 hours, because the clouds that cause the halo can signify atmospheric moisture and the approach of a frontal system.

However, this unfortunately isn't ringing true in this case, with plenty of fine weather expected across south-west England.

Have you ever captured a photograph of a halo? If you have, we would love to see it, just upload it here.

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Summer in full flow. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 5 July 2026
Split image showing golden crepuscular rays streaming through sunset clouds over the countryside on the left, and glowing blue noctilucent clouds above silhouetted trees and traffic lights at twilight on the right.
Sunday, 5 July 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Summer in full flow
Forest fires rage in southern Europe. Drought and wind. . . Monday, 6 July 2026
Split screen. On the left, a weather map of France and Spain showing the plumes of smoke from the forest fires. On the right, a fire-fighting aircraft in action.
Monday, 6 July 2026

Drought and wind

Forest fires rage in southern Europe
Heatwave versus storm system. Contrasts in Europe. . . Tuesday, 7 July 2026
A temperature map of Europe showing a major heatwave in the south-west and significantly cooler air in the north. Two thermometer symbols illustrate the stark contrast in temperature.
Tuesday, 7 July 2026

Contrasts in Europe

Heatwave versus storm system
All weather news
This might also interest you
A frozen start to the weekend. Icy conditions. . . Friday, 13 February 2026
UK temperature map dated 14.02 showing widespread subzero values in blue shading, with readings such as −4 in Glasgow, −3 in Dublin, and −2 in London, alongside a blue thermometer icon.
Friday, 13 February 2026

Icy conditions

A frozen start to the weekend
Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands. Storm and rain. . . Friday, 12 December 2025
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday, 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList