‘Fire Rainbow’ Lights Up Central NJ Sky, Report Says

EDISON, NJ — A rare “fire rainbow” lit up parts of New Jersey skies on Tuesday afternoon, according to a report from NJ.com.

Around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the rainbow was visible in the western part of the sky over Edison, the report said.

While fire rainbows don’t actually have anything to do with fire, they’re technically known as “circumhorizontal arcs, which occur when the sun is higher than 58° above the horizon,” UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) Geography says.

“...Its light passes through high-altitude cirrus clouds made up of hexagonal plate ice crystals,” UCSB said. “When optimally aligned, the ice crystals act as a prism, and the resulting refraction is reminiscent of a rainbow.”

Photos and videos of the fire rainbow were posted online after being spotted in Edison and parts of New York City.

According to Meteorologist Joe Martucci, for places in the mid-latitude (like New Jersey), circumhorizontal arcs are more commonly seen when the sun is higher in the sky during the summer months.

This is far from the first time a fire rainbow has been spotted in New Jersey, either.

In late May of 2019, one was spotted on the beach in Avalon over Memorial Day Weekend.

• Read More: Rare 'Fire Rainbow' Spotted At Cape May County Beach

To read the full report from NJ.com, you can click here.