<p>A rainbow is not a physical object that has a position.  It is an optical phenomena that depends on your location relative to the sun and rain.  If you are standing where your eyes can intercept the colored light, you are standing with your back to the sun and the sunlight is reflecting on raindrops in front of you.  Someone else standing in a different location would not necessarily see a rainbow if they looked up at the same part of the sky.</p>
<p>From <a href="http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/wtr/rnbw/frm.rxml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">University of Illinois</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to Descartes' calculations using laws of optics, the three stage refraction-reflection-refraction pattern that light undergoes when passing through a raindrop produces a concentration of outgoing rays along a line that is 42 degrees above the head of an observer's shadow. This concentration of light rays is the rainbow that we see.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Also <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/rainbow/print/#:%7E:text=In%20fact%2C%20no%20one%20sees,his%20or%20her%20own%20horizon." rel="nofollow noreferrer">this National Geographic article</a> has a nice description:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Viewers on the ground can only see the light reflected by raindrops above the horizon. Because each person's horizon is a little different, no one actually sees a full rainbow from the ground. In fact, no one sees the same rainbow—each person has a different antisolar point, each person has a different horizon. Someone who appears below or near the &quot;end&quot; of a rainbow to one viewer will see another rainbow, extending from his or her own horizon.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What this means is that a rainbow is not really a meteorological occurrence that can be measured or catalogued, because you would get a different answer depending on your reference point.  Lightning, in contrast, is a physical phenomena that has a precise location which can be determined and verified from multiple points of reference.</p>
<p>Rainbows are photographed and archived by enthusiasts, but it's really about artistic appreciation.  While I have not looked into rainbow forecast services, a quick search shows some interesting resources, such as <a href="https://stephenbayphotography.com/blog/how-to-predict-rainbows-and-plan-photographs/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How to Predict Rainbows and Plan Photographs</a> which has a link to a <a href="https://www.planitphoto.com/#feature" rel="nofollow noreferrer">photography app that can plan for rainbows</a> and here is a <a href="http://www.erikscarlson.com/project/chance-of-rainbow#:%7E:text=Creating%20an%20algorithm%20to%20predict,(if%20that%20is%20possible)." rel="nofollow noreferrer">rainbow app you can install</a> on your phone.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rebeccapaton.net/rainbows/formatn.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">How Rainbows Happen</a> also has a nice description (shown below) and some other useful resources.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GEDyn.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GEDyn.gif" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T19:07:59.773Z
You can still forecast the existence of conditions that would lead to being able to view a rainbow.  The question is if anyone does.
Mark
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-02T02:00:47.627Z
I've updated the post with some links
f.thorpe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-22T04:33:57.590Z
2021-06-04T04:22:18.897Z
2021-06-04T04:22:18.897Z
f.thorpe
<p>I am a lay person in meteorology, maybe this is not the right place for my question, but I would like to ask then.</p>
<p>My question is simple: is there a website or institute that has integrated statistics on forecasting the occurrence of rainbows in different countries around the world?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-05-21T15:47:50.283Z
I think its unlikely that this exists, . You could possibly calculate a surrogate, by taking day time rainfall totals and daily sunshine hours, and assuming that days where it was sunny and rainy increased the chance of their being a rainbow!  For instance thttps://wui.cmsaf.eu/safira/action/viewDoiDetails?acronym=SARAH_V002_01 has daily  sunshine data . It would be moderately challenging to process the data globally, and to factor out things like length of day.
Andy M
<meteorology><weather-forecasting>
Some website or institute with integrated statistics on forecasting the occurrence of rainbows
7beggars_nnnnm
# Some website or institute with integrated statistics on forecasting the occurrence of rainbows

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-05-21)

I am a lay person in meteorology, maybe this is not the right place for my question, but I would like to ask then.

My question is simple: is there a website or institute that has integrated statistics on forecasting the occurrence of rainbows in different countries around the world?

**Tags:** meteorology, weather-forecasting

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think its unlikely that this exists, . You could possibly calculate a surrogate, by taking day time rainfall totals and daily sunshine hours, and assuming that days where it was sunny and rainy increased the chance of their being a rainbow!  For instance thttps://wui.cmsaf.eu/safira/action/viewDoiDetails?acronym=SARAH_V002_01 has daily  sunshine data . It would be moderately challenging to process the data globally, and to factor out things like length of day.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-05-22. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

A rainbow is not a physical object that has a position. It is an optical phenomena that depends on your location relative to the sun and rain. If you are standing where your eyes can intercept the colored light, you are standing with your back to the sun and the sunlight is reflecting on raindrops in front of you. Someone else standing in a different location would not necessarily see a rainbow if they looked up at the same part of the sky.

From [University of Illinois](http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/wtr/rnbw/frm.rxml):

> According to Descartes' calculations using laws of optics, the three stage refraction-reflection-refraction pattern that light undergoes when passing through a raindrop produces a concentration of outgoing rays along a line that is 42 degrees above the head of an observer's shadow. This concentration of light rays is the rainbow that we see.

Also [this National Geographic article](https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/rainbow/print/#:%7E:text=In%20fact%2C%20no%20one%20sees,his%20or%20her%20own%20horizon.) has a nice description:

> Viewers on the ground can only see the light reflected by raindrops above the horizon. Because each person's horizon is a little different, no one actually sees a full rainbow from the ground. In fact, no one sees the same rainbow—each person has a different antisolar point, each person has a different horizon. Someone who appears below or near the "end" of a rainbow to one viewer will see another rainbow, extending from his or her own horizon.

What this means is that a rainbow is not really a meteorological occurrence that can be measured or catalogued, because you would get a different answer depending on your reference point. Lightning, in contrast, is a physical phenomena that has a precise location which can be determined and verified from multiple points of reference.

Rainbows are photographed and archived by enthusiasts, but it's really about artistic appreciation. While I have not looked into rainbow forecast services, a quick search shows some interesting resources, such as [How to Predict Rainbows and Plan Photographs](https://stephenbayphotography.com/blog/how-to-predict-rainbows-and-plan-photographs/) which has a link to a [photography app that can plan for rainbows](https://www.planitphoto.com/#feature) and here is a [rainbow app you can install](http://www.erikscarlson.com/project/chance-of-rainbow#:%7E:text=Creating%20an%20algorithm%20to%20predict,(if%20that%20is%20possible).) on your phone.

[How Rainbows Happen](http://www.rebeccapaton.net/rainbows/formatn.htm) also has a nice description (shown below) and some other useful resources.
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/GEDyn.gif)](https://i.sstatic.net/GEDyn.gif)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: You can still forecast the existence of conditions that would lead to being able to view a rainbow.  The question is if anyone does.  
> **username_2**: I've updated the post with some links  

---

