Big Lunar Halo in Southern Utah: Watch for Weather?

I looked in the sky last night and saw this massive halo around the moon. I have seen these before, but never as big as this one. It looked like it filled the whole sky. Native people claimed these halos predicted stormy weather. 

Science Says the Halo Comes from Ice Crystals 

Many of the folklore of prior generations turns out to have a large element of truth to it. Lunar halos are one of these. Space.com says the halo is made as the light reflects of ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. 

This striking and often beautiful halo around the moon is caused by the refraction of moonlight from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.   

These ice crystals act as a kind of lens that creates the beautiful effect. They can also happen in the daytime around the sun.

Can It Predict the Weather? 

The answer to this is...sometimes. The added moisture in the atmosphere could indicate a storm in the future, but it isn’t guaranteed. Part of the timing of halos has created the folklore.

In the winter there are more crystals and a better chance of seeing halos. Winter is also a time of more storms. The combination of both seems like they go together, but they don't always correlate. 

Read More: High Tech Tampering With the Weather Outlawed in Utah

The size of the halo seen over Southern Utah is interesting. The ice crystals refract light at a certain angle that creates the halo. This one filled up the sky because of the part of the atmosphere the crystals were in. Depending on the height, the light reflected to the person’s eye may make it look bigger or smaller. 

However, having said all that, there is weather predicted for Southern Utah later this week. Maybe there’s more to that folklore than they are saying.