Double Rainbow

No, this is not an attempt to further propagate the very popular viral video. I saw a "double rainbow", or a rainbow with a secondary bow, last Monday. On that day Stratford had four different thunderstorms - two severe, one strong, one relatively small. As a very defined severe supercell moved to the east approximately two hours before sunset it allowed the sun to shine. It was as if the sky was perfectly clear even though it was still raining and very cloudy overhead and to the east.

It produced the strongest rainbow I have ever seen, and appeared much brighter than even the photos can convey. These pictures are completely untouched and unedited apart from being scaled down. What do you notice about them?





So what stands out? For one, and most obviously, the sky is the brightest underneath the primary rainbow. In a similar vein, the sky between the two rainbows is darker than any other part of the sky, even if just by a bit against the backdrop of the thunderstorm. Lastly, look at the order of colors in the rainbows. The primary rainbow is in the typical light sequence we learn in elementary school, Roy G. Biv - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. However, the secondary rainbow reverses this order. Mere seconds after taking these photos the rainbows started to fade, all but disappearing in a couple minutes.


Photos © Scott Kruitbosch