Faint 'hailbow' developed over northern Roanoke County Thursday afternoon
Forms when sunlight bounces off hailstones
Chris Michaels, Meteorologist
Photo Credit: Mark Overbeck
ROANOKE, Va. – Storms this time of year can contain heavy rain, lightning and even some small hail. That was the case Thursday afternoon in places like Covington and near Montvale.
Mark Overbeck saw one of those tiny, but explosive storms in Bonsack. He was looking toward Bedford County snapping pictures.
Recommended Videos
Within this storm, you could see a faint 'hailbow.' Yes, you read that right.
When you see a rainbow, the sun's light is being reflected off the raindrop to produce the ROYGBIV color scheme.
In this storm, the sun's light was bouncing or refracting off tiny hailstones falling from the cloud. That had a similar effect, as you can see in the picture above.
