What Is A Fire Rainbow?      6/18/15

Fire Rainbows are known as circumhorizontal arcs. Its a huge multicolored halo that runs parallel to the horizon and its center is beneath the sun. Red is the upper color. This cloud is rare and it depends where and when you are at a certain time.

Fire Rainbows occur when the sun is is higher than 58 degrees above the horizon. The suns light passes through the cirrus clouds which are made up of hexagonal plate ice crystals. When they are perfectly aligned, the crystals act as a prism and will result in a rainbow! 

Since the sun has such a high altitude, it would be impossible to see this phenomenon in areas north of 55 degrees north or south of 55 degrees south. In other latitudes it may be visible but depending on which latitude you are, depends on the amount of time you see it for.

  

Fire rainbows mostly occur in the day time. They usually have a certain time of year when they occur. In London, England they would occur between mid-May and late July. In Los Angeles, they would occur between late March and late September.

Below is a video of a Fire Rainbow