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Question
I know that when it rains whilst the sun is out you get a rainbow...
The other week it was snowing with the sun out so would we also get a rainbow ?
Mike,
The phenomenon you are talking about is called a "snow bow". They do occur every once in awhile, but tend to be quite rare. Light is refracted much better through water droplets than through ice crystals. Another factor necessary to get any knd of bow, be it rain or snow, is that the angle of the sun in the sky has to be relatively low. That is why you will generally see most of the rainbows in the very late afternoon or evening hours, and occasionally in the early morning hours. From October to February, when the sun angle is normally lower anyway, then you can see a rainbow over a larger time frame during the day.
I hope this answered your question.
Sincerely,
Dave Dombek
Expert Senior Meteorologist
AccuWeather.com
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Dave Dombek
Expertise
A weather enthusiast from an early age, Dave Dombek is now an AccuWeather meteorology expert.
Experience
Dave received his B.S. degree in meteorology from the Pennsylvania State University in May of 1980. Dave joined AccuWeather in July of 1980, beginning in the Snow Warning Service late that fall after his few month period of training. Within a short period of time, Dave got involved in radio broadcasting. He spent over 25 years broadcasting forecasts on radio stations throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, and has also done newspaper forecasts and television briefings. Currently, Dave is the lead television briefer for all of AccuWeather's television clients in the northeatern quarter of the nation. In his daily forecasting routine, Dave helps coordinate the forecasts in the northeastern part of the country. He is also the Director of Forecaster Hiring and is in charge of hiring new meteorologists. Finally, Dave is the supervisor of the climatology department at AccuWeather. An avid outdoorsman, Dave enjoys hunting and trout fishing. He also enjoys watching football and is a student of history and current events. If Dave doesn't already have enough on his plate, he is married with two teenage daughters. He also leads a small Messianic congregation in the State College, Pa. area.
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