As a late afternoon storm passes, the sun pops past the trailing edge of the clouds. As the light catches the retreating sheets of rain it raises a high double ‘bow.

Double Rainbow

 

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As a late afternoon storm passes, the sun pops past the trailing edge of the clouds. As the light catches the retreating sheets of rain it raises a high double ‘bow.

The best rainbows are usually early in the morning or an hour or less before sunset. The arc extends high in the sky, and often the background clouds are dark, setting off the colors. This afternoon, the sun came out of the clouds with great intensity while there were still strong sheets of rain, so a classic double ‘bow was thrown: a colorful primary bow outlines a bright arc, then Alexander’s dark band leading to a secondary rainbow of colors in reverse order.