​It has been CRAZY cold around Western New York. Although there aren’t many benefits to the extreme cold, Mother Earth dazzled the area with one: a phenomenon called light pillars.

What You Need To Know

  • Beams of light were over parts of Western New York Thursday night

  • They are called light pillars

  • They are a meteorological phenomenon that only happens when it is very cold

  • You also need a form of light and extremely calm conditions

Light pillars are exactly as they sound, beams of light that look toward the sky. These beams are a meteorological phenomenon caused when ice crystals refract light.

To get ice crystals in the sky, it has to be frigid! And to see the marvel, you need light wind, calm conditions, a source of light and that punishing cold.

When this occurred, temperatures on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, fell to around 4 degrees. Winds were around 5 mph. The backdrop was perfect for the light pillars to form.

So why don’t we see them every time it gets cold? The answer is they are usually only seen when flat, hexagonal-shaped ice crystals reflect city lights or lights from a stoplight, etc.

Another reason is we usually find ice crystals in higher-level clouds, but when the air is very cold, they float much closer to the ground.

light pillars
Photo: Mark Gebhardt
 

Did you see any of the light pillars parked over Western New York? If so, let me know! You can share with me on Faceb​ook, Instagram, and Twitter!