This week's question comes from Morning Brief reader Deanna, who asks, "Why, on an overcast day, do the clouds almost always clear on the horizon so that you can see the sunset?"

Meteorologist Jonathan Belles: If you’ve watched some of our videos, you know that Meteorologist Rob Shackelford has the answer here and it is all about the LCL, or Lifting Condensation Level. That’s the elevation level at which water condenses and the base of clouds form.

During sunset, the light from the sun travels beneath the LCL and the bottom of the clouds.

This LCL is often hovering around 2,000 feet. That gives us roughly 2,000 feet of atmosphere for us to see the sun in before it goes down. That might sound like a lot, but only the sun will drop through that depth in just a few minutes.

Overcast days are typically ones where we see flat, grey clouds from the western horizon to the eastern horizon. If there’s no rain or strong storm to our west, the narrow slot on the horizon opens for a pretty short window for a burst of glorious sun before night falls.

It might sound like clouds are an enemy here, but without clouds, our sunsets would be much less spectacular. All the cloud cover is a canvas for color. The light will also bounce off the bottom of the clouds, which can turn pink for a short time. If you’re lucky enough to have a coastal view of sunset, like a westward-facing lake or beach, the bright oranges and reds from the sun will reflect off the surface of the water, putting on a double show.

If there is an incoming storm system to the west of your location, this type of sunset can be completely washed out by rain or clouds off the horizon that might not be apparent to you. This will lead to a grey wall of clouds that will slowly dim as the sun goes down behind all of the clouds.

This sort of overcast sunset isn’t the best sunset you’ll ever see, but it can be close. For the best sunsets that will light up the entire sky, you want a mix of sun and thinner clouds that will allow some light to pass through them to expand this canvas of wondrous color.

By the way, all of this is true for sunrises too, but the brilliance of sunrises is dictated by moisture to your east instead of to the west.

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