Rare Morning Rainbows Seen From Denver To Colorado Springs
DENVER (CBS4) - Rainbows are a fairly common sight around Denver and the Front Range in the summer, but they're mostly seen during the late afternoon and early evening hours.
It's pretty rare to see a morning rainbow in Colorado, but such was the case on Thursday morning from Denver to Colorado Springs.
The recipe to get a rainbow is pretty simple. All you need is clouds with rain in the vicinity and sunshine.
As light from the sun reflects through the atmosphere and comes in contact with the raindrops, each one acts like a tiny prism, dispersing the light and reflecting it back toward your eyes. The end result is a beautiful display of color seen across the sky that makes a distinct pattern from top to bottom.
You may recall the colors of a rainbow by the acronym ROYGBIV, which stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
On occasion, if the light hits the droplets just right, it can be reflected twice, causing a double rainbow. When that happens the second rainbow is always faint and the colors are reversed.
The reason that late day rainbows are more common in Colorado than morning rainbows is because on most afternoon we have scattered showers and thunderstorms. But it's fairly rare to see rainfall in Colorado around sunrise.
To see a rainbow the sun must be at your back, which is why most late afternoon and evening rainbows are either seen in the north or east sky. Early morning rainbows will normally be seen in a westerly direction, as was the case on Thursday.
Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.
