Rare Iridescent 'Rainbow' Cloud Spotted Over Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Sean Breslin
Published: November 3,2015

Beckie Bone Dunning, a fan of The Weather Channel's Facebook page, was visiting Ocho Rios, Jamaica, last week when she looked up and spotted something fascinating in the sky. Surrounding one of the clouds above her head was a brilliant rainbow.
"I looked up and saw this ... never seen it before in my life. can u explain it," she wrote on our Facebook page.
Of course we can, Beckie. That's why we're here.
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What she saw in the image she shared, which is at the top of this page, is known as cloud iridescence, according to weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen.
"In clouds, iridescence is a byproduct of sunlight being diffracted by water droplets or ice crystals, causing the various wavelengths of light – which we see as colors – to emerge at different angles," Wiltgen said. "As they reach the observer's eye, the observer perceives a pattern of various colors as those different wavelengths reach his or her eye from distinct directions, rather than being jumbled together and appearing whitish."
This is not the first time we've seen this type of cloud in 2015. Back in September, cloud iridescence was observed over Costa Rica. Some of the locals believed the phenomenon was a sign from God, while others believed it meant the end of times.
Luckily, it's just a visual treat, not the apocalypse.
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