I’ve seen photos of rainbow clouds before but have never seen one in person until today. While driving, I had to pull over several times to take photos of them – it lasted for about 30 minutes. I looked it up what causes the rainbow clouds and apparently they are known in the weather world as a circumhorizontal arc.
It isn’t a rainbow in the traditional sense—it is caused by light passing through wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds. The sight occurs only when the sun is very high in the sky (more than 58° above the horizon). The hexagonal ice crystals that make up cirrus clouds must be shaped like thick plates with their faces parallel to the ground.
When light enters through a vertical side face of such an ice crystal and leaves from the bottom face, it refracts, or bends, in the same way that light passes through a prism. If a cirrus’s crystals are aligned just right, the whole cloud lights up in a spectrum of colors.
Maralee
Through My Lens 
That’s so beautiful. Wonderfully captured. 🙂
Thanks, Inga. I was so excited when I saw it.
Wow, that is gorgeous!!
Thanks, Susan. I’m really glad I was able to see it.
Now if you ask me you are a very privilaged person to have seen that, I have not heard of it before…wonderful,,
Thank you. I think it must have something to do with the latitude we’re at with the ice crystals in the air. I’ve seen photos of something like this in Seattle and Idaho which are in the same general area.
All the rainbows I’ve seen and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rainbow cloud. Great capture!
Thanks, Carissa. I’m just glad I was out and about at that particular time. I could just have easily been at work at that particular time.
Beautiful… Wow, love these pictures! Mother Nature really is something else. 🙂
Thanks. I agree – I am constantly amazed at the beauty Mother Nature provides us.
this is so amazing Maralee…I had not even seen them on photos before! just awesome!
What a beautiful rainbow clouds you captured dear Maralee, Thank you, love, nia
I’ve seen this phenomenon once before but was not as lucky as you to be able to capture it- not having my camera. Another argument for always having your camera with you.
I never heard of it before. Thanks for sharing. It’s beautiful.
WOW! I have never heard of them either, and certainly have not seen one. Beautiful!