Most Surreal Seaside Sunset Ever: What It Means for Oregon Coast's Second Summer and Science

Published 07/08/26 at 7:25 a.m.
Images and words by Andre' Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) – Keep in mind, this happened two decades ago. Yet what's behind is unchanging. Eternal. It's a part of the Oregon coast that will always be – even if the coinciding circumstances created something kind of rare. (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

And even if some parts of all this could be shifting.

I'm getting ahead, however. First, we have to go back to the fall of 2004. October 15, in fact. That's notable because in the weeks before that we (meaning the coast) were in the middle of what we call the “Second Summer.” September and early October are almost always warmer and lovelier than much of the regular summer. There's a whole complex set of meteorological stuff behind that. Then like clockwork, things would shift right about October 15: weather would suddenly turn more fall-like.

I'm bouncing around the beaches and it does just that. On cue. October 14 was lovely and warm. The next day, not so much. Moody clouds kicked in, especially late in the day. This particular day “wound up colder and cloudier than the previous, rather hot two weeks of the month.” I wrote about it just like that.

I'm in Seaside. As I wrote that day:

Perhaps this was the reason for this rather strange sunset moment at Ave. U: the coast was trying to herald something new. The sunset and its brilliant colors were squeezed through the clouds into a triangular shape.

I proceeded to run towards the shore, sensing there was something else happening. By this time in my coastal career, I had a sixth sense for impending cool photographic moments. There's this weird, sharp-angled sunset streaming out of clouds in enormous columns.

I snap a couple of different shots along the way. Then, the money shot appears. You know that little trope in movies where the chorus of heavenly voices kicks in because someone sees something remarkable?

Sure enough, this odd event resulted in a freaky reflection in the water, creating a sort of Pink Floyd-esque sunset effect. It was their Dark Side of the Moon album cover with the prism on it – but pink. The irony is, it was arguably more Pink Floyd than the album cover itself.

It dissipates. The clouds break it up, but the little holes stay, yet split up. They form a really freaky face in the sky.

So what causes this? Particles – and lots of them. But not pollution. In this case, it's heavy particles of moisture, and they refract the light into what are called crepuscular rays. You'll have to look at the crepuscular rays of the Oregon coast article to get the full picture. And it's rather surreal itself how all that works.

In this case, what it means is that the sun is below the hole, so that makes the rays shoot upward.

The other interesting aspect here is the Second Summer. Those now tend to get longer. Every year is, of course, markedly different. But you'll notice those warmer days of second summer often wandering beyond October 15. Fire seasons and burn restrictions go longer than they used to. Climate change appears as if it could be mixing that up a bit.

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