Where Do We Get the Saying About 'Red Skies at Night'? (And Is It True?)

My investigation into the phrase “red skies at night, sailor’s delight” started with this question from Thomas last week:

Hi, Mignon. My name is Thomas, from Indianapolis, and I've been reading about the Sahara dust plume that's heading for U.S. on the tradewinds, and I read that supposedly it is going to cause a whole bunch of fantastic sunsets, and also that when the Sahara dust gets in the atmosphere, it suppresses the formation of tropical storms and hurricanes. And I was wondering if that might be the origin to the old saying “red sky at night, sailor’s delight” and if not, do you know where that comes from or what it dates to? Thanks so much, I love the podcast.

It’s a great question, Thomas.

The massive Saharan dust plume you were asking about has now reached some southern parts of the United States, and it’s mostly gone, but a smaller second plume is on its way.

These plumes aren’t a new phenomenon—they happen all the time when wind blows across the huge deserts in North Africa, and they aren’t just limited to the U.S. either, the dust also makes it to parts of Europe—but according to National Geographic, the plume that wafted over regions from Puerto Rico to Texas last week was the biggest plume since people started recording the size by satellite in 1979.

Since they aren’t new, it’s a reasonable question to wonder if they are the source of the saying “Red skies at night, sailor’s delight. Red skies in the morning, sailor take warning,” but I don’t think so. I believe that regular weather is more likely to be the source because even though the dust storms are common, clouds also cause red skies, and they are much more common.

The ‘Red Skies” Saying Is Old

The concept of red skies at night being a harbinger of good weather is old. For example, the wonderful site “The Phrase Finder” traces written mentions back to one of my favorite old sources, the Wyclif bible, published in 1395.

And at least in England, where the concept and phrase originated, red skies are actually quite predictive of the...

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