Stunning images capture rainbows, lightning over Metro Vancouver

There was an eye-catching mix of rainbows and lightning over Metro Vancouver following a brief downpour this week.

While some pedestrians found themselves unexpectedly drenched when the rain suddenly picked up Wednesday afternoon, the views that followed were stunning – as captured by a number of social media users.

(Credit: Stephen Hickson)

A few people even managed to record rainbows and lightning bolts simultaneously, making for some of the most striking (no pun intended) visuals of the evening.

Some of the views rivaled the jaw-dropping image captured last month by Manitoba photographer Joey Siemens, which depicted not one, but two rainbows beside a massive lightning bolt. 

(Credit: Alaa Dahdal)

To glimpse a rainbow, an observer must be positioned with the sun at their back, at an angle of less than 42 degrees above the horizon, according to the Royal Meteorological Society.

Sunlight is then refracted as it enters water droplets – either rain or fog – causing white light to split into different colours.

“The angle of scatter from raindrops is different for everyone, which means that every rainbow is unique to the observer,” reads a rainbow explainer from the RMS.

The natural phenomenon is generally visible for an hour at most.