Halo Around The Moon Monday Night

Monday night, lots of folks saw this... a halo around the moon (pictured right). The cause of halos around the moon (or around the sun, during the daytime) are caused by the refracting, or basically the bending, of the moon's (or sun's) light by ice crystals in the clouds. Typically, the type of clouds that cause these halos around the moon (or the sun) are called cirrostratus; high clouds that are made of ice crystals. Also, incidentally, these types of clouds often come 12-24 hours in advance of approaching precipitation. Therefore, if you see a halo around the moon or the sun, its a decent bet you might see rain or snow within the next 12 to 24 hours - and guess what, on Tuesday, as forecast by Mother Nature's Monday night halo, rain moved in!