Yes! It is possible to predict how dramatic the Long Island sunset will be early in the day. If you’re looking to capture an Insta-worthy video or image that will surely impress your family and friends, you’ve come to the right place.
Growing up through countless New England summers and unpredictable fall weather, I’ve become pretty knowledgable at identifying when a dramatic sunset will take place. And now that I live less than a mile from the beach, I can sense an amazing sunset on the horizon hours in advance.
There are four factors you want to pay attention to:
- The cloud cover that day.
- The air quality level.
- The humidity level in the air.
- The speed of the wind.
While there will be times that predicting the Long Island sunset will be nearly impossible, you can increase your odds when you know what to look for.
What creates a dramatic Long Island sunset?
If you want to increase the likelihood of witnessing a dramatic Long Island sunset, you need a good weather app or two. I personally use two: Weatherbug and Windfinder.
Weatherbug provides detailed hourly weather predictions. including humidity, cloud cover and wind. I also like to use Windfinder because of my proximity to the shore. The app provides wind predictions in knots.
There are lots of weather apps available, but I like these because they are free with minimal ads. They’re also proven to be fairly accurate.
Once you have a good weather app or two, we can then take a look at what exactly you’ll be using them for.
1. Predict the Cloud Cover
When you look at images of dramatic long island sunsets, one thing to note is what “produces” the color. I put “produces” in quotes because it’s not exactly the clouds that are creating the color. They are, however, providing the backdrop or canvas on which those intense colors will be displayed. More specifically, you are looking for mid-high level clouds. What are those you might ask?
- Altostratus
- Altocumulus
- Cirrus
- Cirrostratus
- Cirrocumulus
Low-level clouds are usually puffy or dense and gray. These include stratus or cumulus clouds. These types of clouds do not reflect light well. While I’ve still seen some cool sunsets with these types of clouds, they are often muted or drab in color and rarely picture worthy.
A detailed weather app will provide a prediction for cloud cover. You want to look for cloud cover in the 30 to 70 percent range. You can also start to look at cloud formations in the sky once the day reaches mid-afternoon. If there’s a decent amount of clouds in the sky, the chances of them lingering are high if the wind is calm.
2. Pay Attention to Air Quality
Have you ever noticed that dramatic Long Island sunsets almost always follow a strong late afternoon thunderstorm? I’m talking those types of storms that make you second guess if you missed a hurricane warning. Or when the sky opens up and dumps the Long Island Sound on you.
Afterward, the air is often cooler and it’s easier to breathe. There’s actually a lot of science behind all of this, but what you need to know is that we need the blue light produced by the sun’s rays to scatter in order to produce those dramatic and vibrant yellows, oranges, and hot pinks. The more it scatters, the more intense the color. The cleaner (less dense) the air, the more blue light scatters.
3. Look Up the Humidity Level
We all live close enough to the city to know that higher humidity levels and heat usually equals air quality alerts. So it’s probably no surprise that humidity also plays a factor in predicting sunsets.
The higher the percentage of water in the air, the more muted a sunset will appear. A lower percentage of water in the air lends itself to producing more intense colors at sunset. This is one of the reasons that the fall is one of the best seasons to capture dramatic sunsets.
In Long Island, the fall tends to have lower humidity levels and mid-high level clouds. This sometimes carries into the winter until New England’s lower level clouds make their way over the Sound.
4. Watch the Wind Speed
This is perhaps the most difficult predictor when it comes to dramatic Long Island sunsets.
If the wind is calm in the afternoon and we can see the perfect sunset producing clouds, this can all change if the wind speed increases. The wind can push those perfect clouds out over past the horizon. This will leave you with clear skies at sunset and no backdrop for the sunset’s colors.
However, a light breeze can be the perfect companion to a dramatic Long Island sunset. Think of a light breeze like an artist placing paint on his canvas. The breeze can play with the clouds like paint by changing the shape and contours of the clouds as it pushes them across the sky.
Quick Review
As you can see, it isn’t difficult to predict what kind of sunset you may have today. It does take a little patience and perhaps a few misses before you will get that perfect dramatic Long Island sunset picture. But now you know you’re looking for:
- 30 to 70 percent mid-high level cloud cover
- High Air Quality (the cleaner the better)
- Low Humidity
- A calm breeze or little to no wind
Now it’s time to practice. This week, use the weather apps and your knowledge to predict the sunset each day. Let me know if this post helped you capture the perfect Long Island sunset. Want to checkout a new spot to take it from? Here are my Top 7 Spots to Capture the Sunset on Long Island.