Home
Weather Dublin
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Home / Editor's Pick /

Seen in Norfolk: What causes double rainbows?

15:00
9 April 2023

Seen in Norfolk
What causes double rainbows?

Double rainbowThis double rainbow was captured in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk last week. - © Richard Lay

A Weather & Radar user captured this stunning double rainbow last week, but do you know what leads to their appearance?

Earlier this week we looked at what leads to the creation of regular rainbows, so how do we end up seeing double?

How are single rainbows created?read more

Sometimes you can see another so-called secondary rainbow next to the main rainbow. This is located above the main rainbow at an angle of 51 degrees.

The second rainbow is created by another reflection within the raindrop. The path of the light is thus longer and part of the light is lost.

Therefore, the second rainbow appears only fainter, if at all.

At the same time, the colours in the secondary rainbow are arranged in reverse to those in the main rainbow.

Captured a double rainbow near you? Send it in to us using the uploader!

Weather & Radar editorial team
More on the topic
Split image showing a glowing lenticular cloud halo around the sun over a green field on the left and a hazy sunrise reflecting across calm sea and beach on the right.
Sunday 15 March 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Spring haze and rain on video
Wind map showing a powerful cyclone off the north-east coast of Australia. The red centre indicates a Category 5 storm near Cairns. The surrounding areas show strong wind patterns.
Thursday 19 March 2026

Gusts of up to 177 mph

Extreme cyclone heads to north Australia
Weather map of the Alps with radar image. Above Switzerland and northern Italy, a symbol indicates snowfall in a large precipitation area over the western Alps.
Thursday 12 March 2026

Lots of snow in the Alps

Temperature drop at the weekend
All weather news
This might also interest you
Split image showing strong winds over the UK on a forecast map and widespread rain and snow on a weather radar map.
Tuesday 27 January 2026

Severe gales & heavy rain

Storm Chandra makes impact
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwitteryouTubelinkList