• Article Photo. An occasional phenomenon in very cold weather is sun dogs, seen from the Vinton airport Thursday.
    An occasional phenomenon in very cold weather is sun dogs, seen from the Vinton airport Thursday.

Winter days like today's with warnings about dangerous wind chills, do not offer many reasons to go outside. But the weather does come with a unique phenomenon (just remember to not look directly at the sun!).

Sun dogs (parhelia) are the result of sunlight's refraction through ice crystals. See more scientific details HERE.