CHICAGO, Ill. (WZZM) -- A combination of cold water, warm air, and the right weather conditions caused a meteorological phenomenon recently over Lake Michigan.
On Saturday, April 18, Reddit user SuperJosh92 photographed a rare superior mirage in St. Joseph, showing the Chicago skyline inverted. The images have been viewed 1.4 million times on Reddit.
A superior mirage of sand dunes was also spotted April 18 in Grand Haven, the Grand Haven Tribune reports. Ed Post photographed images of the dunes looking north over the Grand Haven Channel, which are not normally visible from his vantage point.
According to Michigan Sea Grant, superior mirages are created by atmospheric conditions that alter the appearance of the Earth's horizon.
The mirages are made possible by uniform and widespread temperature inversions, where warm air quietly lies over a layer of colder air. The difference in air density bends horizon light downward, causing visual distortions and/or making objects located below the horizon visible.
In May 2012, the orange lights of Milwaukee could be seen on the horizon from Grand Haven, 80 miles away across Lake Michigan.
In the book "Rainbows, Haloes and Glories," author Robert Greenler reported that one April night the residents of Grand Haven looked across Lake Michigan and saw city lights and a flashing red beacon. Their sightings were later confirmed to have been the city of Milwaukee, which is about 85 miles across the lake from Grand Haven.
