What makes a pretty sunrise, sunset this time of year?

ROANOKE, Va. – As opposed to the past two days, Friday has seen more clouds drifting in. If you were up early enough Friday morning, there's a chance you were treated to a very nice, vibrant sunrise.

Just look at the shot below from Jerry Carr in Check!

This time of year, we have more cold fronts moving through. Associated with these fronts are storm systems (areas of low pressure). Air at the bottom of the storm rises and then reaches a certain level where the air diverges or fans out. That level of the atmosphere is usually cold enough for ice to form. 

That's when you get the more wispy, cirrus clouds to develop and drift to areas hundreds of miles away from the storm itself. 

When the sun is low, its beams/light can bounce off of these ice crystals and create an array of different colors.

This is when you see your reds, pinks, oranges, etc. on full display. If you ever have any pictures of the sunrise or sunset that you would like to share, feel free to send on Facebook, @ us on Twitter or Instagram, or send an email to news@wsls.com. 

DeAnn Stull did just that this morning, with these gorgeous pictures from Roaring Run Mountain.