Shepherds delight,
Red sky at morning,
Shepherd's warning
Red sky at night,
Sailors delight,
Red sky at morning,
Sailors take warning
It doesn't matter which form of the rhyme you use it still has the same meaning. For thousands of years it has been believed that the sky at morning or night can predict the weather of the next day. The belief is also mentioned in the bible and in Shakespeare showing an interesting longevity of superstition. There are also versions from all across the world, including North America, Italy and Scandinavia.
The actual science behind this is a result of trapped dust and soot particiles. Air particles react with the blue rays and the dust and soot react with the red rays. This is enhanced at night with the lower sun. When a weather system is moving from West to East the red sky at night means that the weather in the west is predominantly good. In the morning it indicated the nice weather has passed and instead an area of low pressure and less pleasant weather is on the way.
The photograph at the top of the picture was taken yesterday at Portland in Dorset and looking out of my window at the beautiful weather outside this morning lends creedance to the rhyme.
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