Fire Rainbow

[tedster]

This is one of the rarest and most amazing visuals ever seen in the sky. And Snopes says it's not an urban legend, it's true!

Fire Rainbow
[snopes.com...]

[zCat]

No connection with recent nuclear testing then?

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I saw that in the sky above Glasgow on Saturday evening when Scotland beat France in the European Championship qualifier :)

... or perhaps it was caused by the excessive celebrations that followed.

[TravelSite]

Yeah - I think the Scotland score is much rarer than the fire rainbow (and certainly more welcome)!

It's hard to imagine what the fire rainbow would have looked like if you were there. They'll need to take one of those ipix/360 degree panoramas the next time it happens.

[rj87uk]

Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland, Go Scotland.

[Leosghost]

Used to get these frequently when I lived in the south of France near St .Tropez (although this is the largest I've heard of )..the Var has other unusual cloud effects including "mamma" ..I have photos that I've taken myself as reference shots for paintings o both of these types of cloud formations ..

if you are interested in clouds an english language site is [metoffice.com...]

( scroll down to near the bottom of page for the "unusual" types )

Or also go direct to here [metoffice.com...]

Each pic is a thumb of the larger more interesting version ..

Winter clouds tend to be more spectaculaire than those of summer ..the "pile of plates" ( pile d'assiettes ) were always more interesting in the Var around the months of february or march ..like wise the prismatic /irisation or "rainbow" types ( these only occur when you have very high cirrus and cold ) ..they are very hard to capture on camera ..and dont last long ..( one needs to spend much time outside looking up ..not the usual circumstances of those who work on the web ;-) ..

So back away from the mouse and go outside and look up ..ya never know :-)

spelling

[edited by: Leosghost at 12:38 pm (utc) on Oct. 9, 2006]

[JudgeJeffries]

Is this thing the same as the rainbow arctic ice clouds that I saw in UK maybe 10 years ago? Most of the cloudy sky turned into one huge rainbow, the traffic on the motorway that I was travelling on pulled over to watch (illegal!) and it actually crossed my mind that a nuke had hit Manchester.
Never seen anything like it before or since.

[DamonHD]

Hi JJ,

Well, don't keep us in suspense: did a nuke hit Manchester? I'd need confirmation either way! B^>

Rgds

Damon

[ronin]

Is this thing the same as the rainbow arctic ice clouds that I saw in UK maybe 10 years ago?

Yes. You could see the phenomenon very clearly from Sheffield. I took a couple of photos from the top of Crookesmoor. >;->

[JudgeJeffries]

I was on the top of the M62 at Saddleworth. Hundreds of cars pulled over. No one had a clue what it was. Quite scary/spectacular at the time.

[Wlauzon]

They might be rare, but not unheard of. When I lived up in the high mountains of Arizona, we used to see them 2-4 times a year, nearly always in winter preceding an incoming storm.

The most spectacular one I ever saw was an early morning one that was actually below the rim at Grand Canyon. That was some 50 years ago, when I was about 10 I think. That I suspect is by far the rarest of all, as you have to have special circumstances where the wind blows warmer air from California into the canyon, which freezes as it gains altitude.

[edited by: Wlauzon at 7:11 am (utc) on Oct. 10, 2006]

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I was driving towards Milngavie yesterday afternoon at about 16.30 and by a weird coincidence my wife and I spotted a strange light thing in the sky over Glasgow. It was a kind of broad, rectangular shaped rainbow that looked as though it was over the east of the city.

We watched it for about 5 miles from Dumbarton eastwards before a direction change placed it out of our view. At Baljaffray I saw a guy out taking pictures of it but I don't see anything in the press this morning. When we spotted it I told my wife about this thread but I think she thought I was getting senile.

Anyone else witness this?

[Leosghost]

Anyone else witness this?

what? ..your becoming senile? ..

Nope ..you've gotten a little wiggier as time has passed ..but personally I wouldn't go as far as to say you were becoming senile ..;-)

Just keep away from the adsense threads ..have a wee dram a day ..and you should stay as "compos mentis" as the rest of us foo-ites ;-)

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

have a wee dram a day

That's what's helping me speed my way to senility ;)

But we did see this. Either that or my wife and I are "seeing things" together.

[rj87uk]

I guess you have a few drinks before you drive because your a very self conscious driver? hehe

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Never!