Photographer captures rare ‘fire rainbow cloud’ above Florida as Mother Nature puts on spectacular light show

• Looking up into the night sky, a stunned photographer realised he had seen something special. What perhaps looks like a multi-coloured flying saucer is in fact a rare weather phenomenon known as a ‘fire rainbow cloud’. Burning bright: The rare phenomenon appeared behind a storm cloud near Delray Beach, Florida.
• Atmospheric optics expert Dr Les Cowley said ‘fire rainbow cloud’ was not the best way to describe the phenomenon, which is also known by its proper name of circumhorizon arc. ‘What is happening here is that on sunny afternoons, cumulus clouds boil upwards, pushing layers of moist air above them even higher where they cool and condense to form cloud caps or ‘pileus’ (Latin for cap). When pileus clouds form very quickly, their water droplets tend to be all the same size, the perfect condition for irridescent colours.

(Image taken from google/IE)