Have you seen Mt Rainier’s sky shadow?

This morning, I saw a pic on social media of a shadow in the clouds created by Mt. Rainier. People in the Puget Sound region saw it last week and posted some pictures on social media.

Here is a great example. Click the LINK and see it here. (I would post it, but we don’t have the rights to do so...the picture is amazing.)

Here is another pic of the Mt. Rainier cloud shadow effect, seen last week in the Puget Sound region.

This Mountain climber was at the 14,412 foot summit of Rainier and graced us with this unreal vantage point.

Have you ever seen the Mt. Rainier Shadow?

About ten years ago, I saw this illusive shadow in the clouds above the Wenatchee Valley.

What I saw can be described as the sky above Wenatchee being cut up by a dark 45 degree triangle.

At first, I didn’t know what it was, so I called KPQ. 

Then afternoon host Marcus Bellisimo said he was getting calls into the studio about the shadow.  Someone gave him the explanation that it was caused by a shadow of Mt Rainier.

So how does this shadow thing work in relation to Rainier?

I had to do some research and found an explanation from AmusingPlanet.com

It turns out that in late autumn, the sun rises far enough South on the horizon to align right behind Mt. Rainier. As the sun rises behind the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, standing tall and all alone, creates a startling beautiful shadow in the sky.

This shadow only works IF the Sun’s alignment with Rainier and the cloud cover having a certain altitude.

Lots of factors MUST all work in alignment.

But when it does, grab your smartphone and take a picture.