Photo Of The Week: Double Rainbow In Enumclaw

ENUMCLAW, WA - This week's Patch.com photo of the week is from Enumclaw resident Brandi Christler. She sent us a handful of great pictures, but we picked this double-rainbow shot because ... well because we miss the sun.

How does a double rainbow occur?

Rainbows form when sunlight - usually at a low angle - hits raindrops, refracting the light. The light hits the back side of the drop then reflects out, creating the rainbow arc. A double rainbow happens when the sunlight reflects out of the raindrop a second time. The sunlight has to be at a specific angle, usually around 42 degrees, for a double rainbow to occur.

As you can see in Christler's photo, the double rainbow scenario includes a brighter "primary" rainbow and a fainter secondary rainbow. Of course, the double rainbow was made famous by a 2010 viral video, in which a man has a meltdown after seeing a double rainbow.

And although Christler's double-rainbow photo is great, we wanted to include another one she sent. This is the more common "double horse" phenomenon (look closely):

Want to submit a photo of the week for consideration? Email neal.mcnamara@patch.com and use the subject line "photo of the week."

Images via Brandi Christler