Photos: beautiful ‘pink’ snow in Normandy
Mixture of clouds, snow, and sunrise create rare spectacle
Snow fell in many regions of France over the weekend, but seemed pink on Sunday in Normandy (inset)
Smiltena/Shutterstock / Météo Basse-Normandie / Facebook
A rare showing of ‘pink’ snow was seen in Normandy over the weekend, bringing delight to residents.
Snowfall in several regions across the weekend – including in Paris – left France dreaming of a white Christmas, although in Normandy they may have been thinking instead of a pink one.
On Sunday (November 23) morning the rare pink snow was seen mostly in the Orne department.
It delighted people on social media, with several weather channels and accounts sharing photos and videos.
How did snow appear?
Despite the name, the ‘pink’ hue does not come from the snow itself, but early morning weather conditions.
The prevalence of thinner, low-lying clouds crossing areas recently subject to snow is also common.
These humid clouds are full of fine water particles or microcystals and are particularly good at diffusing the red wavelengths from the morning sun, which shone through the numerous but weak clouds.
It is why, in the photos above, the entire area looks to be daubed in pink and not just the ground.
At the same time, the snow also contributed as it is much better at reflecting sunlight than ground without any.
A further explanation is given by the weather channel Météo Basse-Normandie, below.
Separate from that seen in Normandy, ‘pink’ or ‘watermelon’ snow can be seen in some glaciers due to the presence of certain algae.
Did you see 'pink' snow over the weekend and take photos? Send them to us via feedback@connexionfrance.com
