Why would the clouds in the sky be red-brownish?

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Yeah, I am a few kilometres outside of Munich, and the sky here is really weird. 100% cloud cover, but the clouds are a very strange red-brownish colour. The light is so strong that even houses that are painted white don't appear white, but red-brownish instead

I have no idea why clouds would do that My first thought was chemical accident somewhere, but there's nothing in the news

Is there a scientific explanation for this?

[ozanzac 0]

What's the time Mr Wolf?

[ran 0]

Yeah, I am a few kilometres outside of Munich, and the sky here is really weird. 100% cloud cover, but the clouds are a very strange red-brownish colour. The light is so strong that even houses that are painted white don't appear white, but red-brownish instead

I have no idea why clouds would do that My first thought was chemical accident somewhere, but there's nothing in the news

Is there a scientific explanation for this?

It happens a lot here

I guess it has to do with the dusk/dawn's sun over or through a thin clouds layer, but i'm not a meteorologist.

Personnaly, i find this quite interesting aesthetically speaking, and by the way, a friend of mine takes pictures of the sky and this kind of vision is what he prefers for his shots.

[ran 0]

well . Munich ....

It could really well be some Ammoniac which escaped from some nearby chemical plant's tanks

forget my first post then

we have red/brownish sky after storms in summer and autimn here, nothing really spectacular but it makes the outside colors go weird.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

What's the time Mr Wolf?

Board time.

Ran, I looked, no chemical accidents mentioned anywhere. Odd.

[ran 0]

What's the time Mr Wolf?

Board time.

Ran, I looked, no chemical accidents mentioned anywhere. Odd.

well, has there been a storm right before ?

[Pipski 0]

I remember just before a storm in Yorkshire seeing the entire sky turn dark brown. That was weird. I guess it just happens sometimes.

[ozanzac 0]

What's the time Mr Wolf?

Board time.

Ahh, excuse me then. I don't run the board time.

We usually see this when not long before it's about to bucket down. Not just hard. But Very hard. But that's a summer storm, where alot of topsoil is picked up. As it's your winter, I have only a vaugue idea as to what it would look like.

It'd be helpful if you could manage to post a pic.

[GoOB 0]

I saw this whilst passing trough Italy last summer, it was quite cool but still very annoying at the same time. Trying to read a map under the reddish light was kind of hard to say the least.

My dad and I suspected smog together with some odd weather phenomenon, as there were alot of factories around and some of the clouds were really dark blue.

[waffendennis 0]

Yeah, I am a few kilometres outside of Munich, and the sky here is really weird. 100% cloud cover, but the clouds are a very strange red-brownish colour. The light is so strong that even houses that are painted white don't appear white, but red-brownish instead  

I have no idea why clouds would do that   My first thought was chemical accident somewhere, but there's nothing in the news  

Is there a scientific explanation for this?

Well the same thing is coming here to ( netherlands ) it's a weather thing that is rare ... A big storm blowed reddish sand all over the world so you see that what you have seen there Ex-RoNiN and the next thing will be: a small layer off red sand.

So nothing fancy there

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

Whatever it was, its gone pretty quickly now.

Some explanations I have heard:

- its a combination of angle of the sun in the sky, high moisture content in the clouds, and smog/other dirt in the atmosphere

- its a sign that something bad will happen.

Hmmm....

[Acecombat 0]

This isnt something new or out of the ordinary ... or is it ?

We have such dust clouds here too which turn the colour of everything from white to instant orange/brown in minutes

While going on through the interior here last year i even saw mini crazy little tornadoes typy things forming in the desert and then vanishing within a few secs it was one of the wierdiest things i ever saw. I mean in the US those things wreck up houses and go around lik crazy here in the desert they form too but too little and for such a short time that they seem ridiculous.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

This isnt something new or out of the ordinary ... or is it ?  

We have such dust clouds here too which turn the colour of everything from white to instant orange/brown in minutes  

While going on through the interior here last year i even saw mini crazy little tornadoes typy things forming in the desert and then vanishing within a few secs it was one of the wierdiest things i ever saw. I mean in the US those things wreck up houses and go around lik crazy here in the desert they form too but too little and for such a short time that they seem ridiculous.

Germany doesn't have a desert

[Acecombat 0]

This isnt something new or out of the ordinary ... or is it ?  

We have such dust clouds here too which turn the colour of everything from white to instant orange/brown in minutes  

While going on through the interior here last year i even saw mini crazy little tornadoes typy things forming in the desert and then vanishing within a few secs it was one of the wierdiest things i ever saw. I mean in the US those things wreck up houses and go around lik crazy here in the desert they form too but too little and for such a short time that they seem ridiculous.

Germany doesn't have a desert  

Well someone dusted the inards of their vaccuum cleaner maybe

[Tamme 0]

I've seen something like that sometimes. IIRC it has been all red and also all yellow outside. It's cool if you ask me. Dunno exactly why it happens.

[Gadger 0]

From the top of the tower block of my university in central Manchester its common to see the redish, brown clouds, at a guess its something to do with pollution, altitude and the amount of water in the atmosphere, looks kinda eerie but cool tho

[Rastavovich 0]

The phenomenon you saw was infact desert dust. It came from africa. Swiss television just mentioned it in the news.

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

From the top of the tower block of my university in central Manchester its common to see the redish, brown clouds, at a guess its something to do with pollution, altitude and the amount of water in the atmosphere, looks kinda eerie but cool tho  

Nah, thats smog.

Tower block - isn't that the Maths Department?

[Ex-RoNiN 0]

The phenomenon you saw was infact desert dust. It came from africa. Swiss television just mentioned it in the news.

Oh wow, I see

[Hit_Sqd_Maximus 0]

While going on through the interior here last year i even saw mini crazy little tornadoes typy things forming in the desert and then vanishing within a few secs it was one of the wierdiest things i ever saw. I mean in the US those things wreck up houses and go around lik crazy here in the desert they form too but too little and for such a short time that they seem ridiculous.

Tornadoes and dust devils are two totally different things.

Dust devils are formed by the sun heating the surface of the air near it and are made visible by rotating clouds of dust. I guess that makes them look similar to tornadoes but they are formed differently.

Quote[/b] ]What causes tornadoes?

Thunderstorms develop in warm, moist air in advance of eastward-moving cold fronts. These thunderstorms often produce large hail, strong winds, and tornadoes. Tornadoes in the winter and early spring are often associated with strong, frontal systems that form in the Central States and move east. Occasionally, large outbreaks of tornadoes occur with this type of weather pattern. Several states may be affected by numerous severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.

During the spring in the Central Plains, thunderstorms frequently develop along a "dryline," which separates very warm, moist air to the east from hot, dry air to the west. Tornado-producing thunderstorms may form as the dryline moves east during the afternoon hours.

Along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, in the Texas panhandle, and in the southern High Plains, thunderstorms frequently form as air near the ground flows "upslope" toward higher terrain. If other favorable conditions exist, these thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.

Tornadoes occasionally accompany tropical storms and hurricanes that move over land. Tornadoes are most common to the right and ahead of the path of the storm center as it comes onshore.

My guess is the color of the sky is caused by dust in the air. On dry windy days during sunsets it turns that color here.

[Schoeler 0]

Yeah, I am a few kilometres outside of Munich, and the sky here is really weird. 100% cloud cover, but the clouds are a very strange red-brownish colour. The light is so strong that even houses that are painted white don't appear white, but red-brownish instead  

I have no idea why clouds would do that   My first thought was chemical accident somewhere, but there's nothing in the news  

Is there a scientific explanation for this?

Well, having served for six years as an observer in the Naval Meteorlogical Command I can tell you there could be several explanations for this.  I would really need a picture to narrow it down, but some could be:

1.  A high thin layer of cirrostratus clouds where as the sun cuts through the ice crystals at the appropriate angle they filter out the light from the other areas of the visible spectrum.

2.  Pollution.

3.  In Europe, at certain times of year there are upper-level winds that blow from south to north, these winds originate in dust storms in North Africa and often carry large amounts of Saharan dust up even into Northern Europe and the arctic and then deposit it.  Without a picture, I'd say this is the most likely explanation.

Edit:  Ahh damnit, someone beat me to it.  Should have read all of the posts before replying!

It was driving me nuts that I couldn't remember the name of the most dominant of this type of local wind pattern so I googled it and voila!  Here it is:

Quote[/b] ]sirocco    

Related: Meteorology

(serŏk´ō) [ital., from Arab. sharq =east], hot, dust-laden, dry, southerly wind originating in the N African desert (most commonly in the spring) and reaching Italy and nearby Mediterranean areas. The term more generally denotes any oppressive, warm, southerly or southeasterly wind in this region.  

 

No wonder I kept thinking of Volkswagons!!  

Edit: Here is a link to the full scientific explanation:

Saharan wind patters affecting Europe

[Schoeler 0]

This isnt something new or out of the ordinary ... or is it ?  

We have such dust clouds here too which turn the colour of everything from white to instant orange/brown in minutes  

While going on through the interior here last year i even saw mini crazy little tornadoes typy things forming in the desert and then vanishing within a few secs it was one of the wierdiest things i ever saw. I mean in the US those things wreck up houses and go around lik crazy here in the desert they form too but too little and for such a short time that they seem ridiculous.

That phenomenon is called a Haboob. It is simply a prolonged sandstorm. We have them here in Arizona as well.

[Harnu 0]

Every few years by me everything goes green.

[denoir 0]

Without a picture, I'd say this is the most likely explanation.

Voilŕ:*

<span style='font-size:5pt;line-height:100%'>*Disclaimer: Picture may or may not be from Europe or Earth</span>

[bonko the sane 2]

Yup, sahara desert dust, we have this a lot in Lisbon, and if it rains everything is muddy and red in the morning, but usualy these kind of storms only happen in the end Summer when the winds change.