Fog Bow Folklore
We recently had an e-mail about fog bows and wondered if anyone could shed some light on where they appear and any folklore connections.
We recently had an e-mail about fog bows and wondered if anyone could shed some light on where they appear and any folklore connections.
"I am trying to write an article for young readers about fog bows. The area rare type of rainbow that occur in foggy or misty areas. I thought that your area of the world might fit the type of weather they would occur in. I have found a few web pages that break them down scientifically, but do not say where they really occur or if there is any type of folk lore associated with them. If you have any ideas I would appreciate them."
Re: Fog Bow Folklore
Hmmm… There is folklore associated with Brocken Spectres (or Brocken Bows) which are the projected shadows of a person in banks of could, usually on a mountain. Probably the most famous piece of folklore revolves around the most-used explanation for am Fear Liath Mhor, the Big Grey Man of Ben Macduibh.
I’m sure there was also something called a Snow Dog, some sort of aerial phemonenon with ice crystals in the air (although quite whether it was locked in eternal combat with By-Torr is unknown). Sadly google searches only turn up some rubbish-looking kids’ film.
‘Fraid that’s all I know. Not heard anything on fog bow though.
Re: Fog Bow Folklore
There is a thing called a Sun Dog which is created by sunlight shining through ice crystals in thin layers of cloud at high altitude. I’ve seen them appear as two small rainbows at either side of the sun. Maybe better conditions would create an enire halo. Never seen or heard of anything called a fog bow though
Re: Fog Bow Folklore
Ahhhhhhhh! SUN dog! Thank you Cragrat! đŸ˜€