Why Too Many Sun Halos is a Really Bad Sign for Missouri Winter

Before there were computers or even radars there were farmers who needed to understand signs of what incoming weather and seasons would be like. Many say that seeing too many sun halos is a really bad sign for what the upcoming winter season will be like in Missouri.

This is what most would classify as folklore, but most of my family grew up on a Missouri farm and understand that nature is sometimes your best gauge for what the weather is about to do to you. Even Farmer's Almanac agrees that sun halos are a foreboding sign that Missouri is about to experience frequent snowfalls. The website Snow Brains concurs.

There's actually some science to back up the sun halo theory as a way of understanding when snow might be coming. The National Weather Service in St. Louis says sun halos happen  when "water drops and ice crystals can act as a prism". Let's do some weather math. If the atmosphere contains more water droplets and ice crystals, that means there's moisture that could be part of an incoming system that could result in snowfall. Makes sense, right?

No, it's not the most super-accurate way to understand when snow may be imminent, but the legend of sun halos being a foreboding warning of precipitation isn't really that far-fetched. It's wise to trust the instincts of a farmer even if the computer models don't agree.