Rain and Rainbows

Above the storm clouds a blue sky waits to make its appearance. Taking a backstage to the flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder it is patient and persistent. Knowing eventually it will have an opportunity to take its turn it is somehow content. There is a lesson in there somewhere.

The lesson learned over the past few days is don’t hang your clothes out to dry because it will start raining again before they get a chance to dry.  We’ve received a significant amount of rain the past few days. Monday’s total was about a half of an inch and yesterday’s total about a tenth of an inch.

Here’s another lesson about rainbows… I once heard you can only see a rainbow if it’s within 4 hours from the time of sunrise or 4 or fewer hours before the sun sets. Here’s the explanation why…

Rainbows work from sunlight being refracted 42 degrees as it strikes a raindrop. The 42 degrees is significant, because rainbows won’t form if the sun is higher than 42 degrees up in the sky.

That’s why rainbows are more prevalent in the mornings and evenings — the lower the sun is in the sky, the higher the rainbow’s arc will be. At sunset, the top of the rainbow would be at its peak arc of 42 degrees.