A RAINBOW RAINFALL OVER THE OCEAN

 A RAINBOW RAINFALL OVER THE OCEAN

It happened off the Florida Atlantic Coast, right as a storm cell drifted across the water and the Sun hit it from the side.

That’s not “colored rain” .. it’s sunlight meeting a curtain of rain. When the Sun is low, light enters raindrops, reflects inside them, and splits into colors. If the rain is falling in a tight sheet, the rainbow can look like it’s pouring straight down in bands.

The warm glow on the cloud top is late sunlight catching the highest edges, while the darker blue around it is the heavier rain and shadow beneath.