A 'Fire Rainbow' Shines In South Carolina

By R. Siva Kumar - 21 Aug '15 14:20PM

It was an appearance in South Carolina last weekend that brought in a lot of viewers. However, the name of this spectacle was perhaps not accurate.

Last Sunday, South Carolina's Lowcountry was treated to an unusual "natural light show" when a "fire rainbow" came in the sky and looked like "a multi-colored angel" before it disappeared, WCSC-TV in Charleston reported, according to csmonitor.

The iridescent clouds attracted a lot of attention, however, the fire rainbow was caused by ice.

Meteorologist Justin Lock explained that in order for the fire rainbow to appear, the sun should be at least 58 degrees above the horizon, and should also shine through high-level cirrus clouds, made of little ice crystals.

"To produce the rainbow colors the sun's rays must enter the ice crystals at a precise angle to give the prism effect of the color spectrum," Mr. Lock said.

Lock added that the same phenomenon was also the reason for colorful sunsets. When the sun dips, the "light reflects and refracts through crystals in high-level cirrus clouds, giving off the bright, warm shades of red and purple we see."

The term "fire rainbow" was coined by a journalist in Spokane, Washington, in 2006. "Circumhorizontal arcs" was the name given to the real, if less catchy, name, which can be seen many times during the spring and summer months in middle-latitude locations, said the Weather Channel. It added that the spectacle looked "as if wispy cirrus clouds take on a rainbow palette."

Perhaps a "rainbow" went majorly viral in 2010, when a YouTube video of a "double rainbow" was seen near Yosemite National Park, perhaps called the "funniest video in the world" by the late night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel.

One viewer, Tracey Smith, saw the fire rainbow from Isle of Palms, S.C. and put it into a picture that she made popular, after which it went viral, with the rainbow looking like angel wings, WCSC-TV reported. Tracy felt that it was like a "friend who had passed away".

"I'm sure she came to visit us on the beach we all love! We miss you Leslie!" she wrote.