PHOTOS: Tropical Storm Beta’s clouds lead to gorgeous Saturday sunset

ROANOKE, Va. – Many of you took note of the sunset Saturday evening and sent us some gorgeous pictures.

This was all due to the clouds streaming in off Tropical Storm Beta. The storm will make landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast early in the week, and its clouds are now suppressed to our south.

Satellite imagery from around sunset Saturday shows those clouds drifting off the storm.

These clouds were around airplane level. At this level, the air was so cold that the clouds were made primarily of ice crystals (cirrus clouds). As the sun sets, its light bounces off the crystals and produces the vibrant colors we often see before the sun goes below the horizon.

If you have any pictures, make sure to submit them here.