VERIFY QUESTION
Hurricane Michael moved out of the U.S. almost as fast as it moved in -- leaving behind a trail of destruction, power outages and a eerie-looking sky.
Pictures and videos have circulated the worldwide web since last week, appearing to show a breathtaking purple sky. What causes this weather phenomenon?
VERIFY SOURCE
- Good Morning Show meteorologist Ed Matthews
VERIFY PROCESS
Matthews explained white light contains all colors of the rainbow -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (remember 'Roy G. Biv')?
Components of the atmosphere filter out all the colors except blue, which is why the sky generally appears blue.
However, in the wake of the hurricane, there were particles of dust, debris and larger water droplets in the sky. Those factors caused the angle of the sun to scatter the purple light instead of the blue. Purple complements blue on the light color scale.
VERIFY CONCLUSION
The scattering of light has to do with the density of particles in the atmosphere. That process determines what color the light and clouds appear.
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