What this rainbow lacked in height, it made up in stunning clarity and brilliance, made possible by the combination of strong direct sunshine, dark-storm background, and clean air on the back side of a scuddy, outflow-dominant, post cold-frontal supercell. Every primary rainbow’s outer red ring would be a full circle spanning 42 degrees of view, centered exactly opposite the sun, if the Earth’s surface didn’t get in the way and intercept the sunshine-bathed raindrops. So why was this one so low? The high early-July sun angle and mid-afternoon timing minimized the amount of rainbow that could appear, without eliminating it altogether. Another hour or less earlier, and no rainbow could show in a relatively flat landscape such as here, on the Great Plains. Since I was on a hill, the limbs of the rainbow do extend noticeably below the horizon.
7 NE Martin SD (9 Jul 19) Looking E
43.2098, -101.6147Low ‘Bow
What this rainbow lacked in height, it made up in stunning clarity and brilliance, made possible by the combination of strong direct sunshine, dark-storm background, and clean air on the back side of a scuddy, outflow-dominant, post cold-frontal supercell. Every primary rainbow’s outer red ring would be a full circle spanning 42 degrees of view, centered exactly opposite the sun, if the Earth’s surface didn’t get in the way and intercept the sunshine-bathed raindrops. So why was this one so low? The high early-July sun angle and mid-afternoon timing minimized the amount of rainbow that could appear, without eliminating it altogether. Another hour or less earlier, and no rainbow could show in a relatively flat landscape such as here, on the Great Plains. Since I was on a hill, the limbs of the rainbow do extend noticeably below the horizon.
7 NE Martin SD (9 Jul 19) Looking E
43.2098, -101.6147