What are Crepuscular Rays? | Weather Wise Lessons?

Crepuscular rays are sunbeams that look like they're coming through clouds or holes in the sky.

Imagine you’re playing in a room with a curtain. When sunlight comes through a small gap in the curtain, it shines across the floor and makes long lines of light, kind of like a spotlight on the floor. That’s what crepuscular rays are, but instead of a curtain, there are clouds or breaks in the clouds in the sky.

When the sun is low in the sky, like when it's getting dark or just starting to get light, its rays pass through gaps in the clouds. These rays look bright and long because they're shining through a lot of air, making them stand out against the darker parts of the sky.

You can see crepuscular rays during sunrise or sunset, which is why people sometimes call them "sunbeams" or "rays of light." It’s like seeing sunlight travel through the sky, you can almost follow it with your eyes, just like you might follow a beam of light from a flashlight in a dark room.