How you can tell if the sunset will be colorful in Denver

DENVER ( KDVR ) — When the sun sets in Denver, sometimes there are pink and purple colors across the mountain skyline, while other times, the sky stays blue before it fades into nighttime.

The sunset won’t always be perfect, but it turns out, there’s a way to know if the sunset will be good before it happens.

According to Pinpoint Weather Meteorologist Travis Michels, it’s not necessarily a forecast meteorologists look at when broadcasting weather, but there is a science behind it.

Nice sunsets usually occur when there are partly to mainly sunny skies. This is not only because you can see a clear sunset, but for colors to show, the sky needs to have some clouds to showcase the color, according to Michels.

Clouds help show the colors because as the sun rises or sets, light passes through more of the atmosphere and hits more particles, according to Michels. Those particles can be natural or manmade dust and pollutants.

When the light hits the particles, it scatters, bounces and changes direction, which slows the wavelength of the light, in turn changing the color.

“Think of it with the prism of color, ROYGBIV, the wavelengths change from slow to fast, and depending on how much scattering there is, that’s how the light is different colors,” said Michels. “More scattering (slows the wavelength) is more orange and red, while less scattering (keeps the wavelength faster) leads to more blues and whites. That’s why the sky is blue during the day.”

For a pretty sunset in Denver, those clouds would need to show up over the foothills and Front Range, according to Michels. In addition, there would need to be clear skies further west of Denver in order for the sun to shine bright before it dips below the horizon.

In short, if the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies over the foothills in the evening and clear skies over the Western Slope, there’s a good chance the sunset will be pretty, said Michels.

If you’re looking for a summer sunset, stay up to date on the forecast and look out for sunny skies with a few clouds. While sunsets aren’t part of the everyday forecast, Michels sometimes mentions on air when there might be a nice one.

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