©Jamie A. MacDonald
This Storm Made the Skies Turn Green in South Dakota
By:
Discovery
On Tuesday, severe storms swept through South Dakota bringing bright green skies. What caused this phenomenon?
July 11, 2022
The thunderstorms affected millions across the United States' Midwest last week, but South Dakota, in particular, captured the internet's attention.
A derecho, a widespread storm associated with rapidly moving thunderstorms, swept across the state. This left a bright green hue across the sky in the late afternoon hours.
According to the Weather Network, green skies are the visual effect of light scattering through water droplets in a storm cloud. The more water droplets in the cloud, the more likely the sky will turn green.
"The red light from the sun setting passes through the blue-ish or opaque white looking water and ice droplets within the storm cloud, giving the stormy skies a green-ish looking glow," explained meteorologist Kelly Sonnenburg.
Take a look at the emerald skies that stunned onlookers.
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