Rare fire rainbow spotted in skies above South Carolina US

Tweeters posted a plethora of pictures, likening the shape of the wispy rainbow cloud to a whale tale or angel wings.

Tracey also said that the cloud formation lasted overhead for about an hour, reported the local 14 News.

South Carolina residents were treated to a stunning phenomenon known as a “fire rainbow” on Sunday. The result is a cloud colored by what are called circumhorizontal arcs.

Viewers were understandably enchanted by the iridescent cloud over the Isle of Palms.

The phenomenon, which in reality has nothing to do with fire and is technically not a rainbow takes place when the sun is high in the sky.

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.

Because such a specific angle is necessary for the fire rainbow to be visible, the phenomenon is most common at middle latitudes.

“You’re more likely to see this type of rainbow during the summer here in North America”, Dayna says. This flamboyant display of colors can be typically seen several times a year in the US, though it’s much rarer in Europe and Asia.