Sunset Show
Charleston, West Virginia - July 12, 2003 - 8:30PM

A line of heavy thunderstorms moved over Charleston on Saturday evening, putting on a lightning show followed by a display of rainbows, mammatus and colorful sunset clouds. Most of the state was under two separate severe thunderstorm watches that together spanned all of the afternoon and evening hours.

In Charleston, the skies quickly cleared following the storms, allowing late evening sunlight to shine back in through the falling rain - perfect ingredients for a good solid rainbow. Many Charlestonians stood outside gazing at this spectacular sight in the eastern sky - some taking pictures.

My photo locations were Fort Hill and later the State Capitol which afforded a great view of the rainbow. However, at the capitol, my 35mm camera accidentally plunged off of the tripod and crashed to the ground - ruining the roll of film inside. The camera is a total loss and will need to be replaced, but the video camera was enough to capture the essence of the day:

Frames from Video:

The northern end of the rainbow develops over Yeager Airport:

Zoomed in:

Rainbow over the Capitol dome:

Cumulonimbus visible on the northern horizon several hours prior to the storms:

Digital Video: Sony DCR-TRV900 3CCD MiniDV, 720x480 NTSC

Digital Camera: FujiFilm FinePix 4700, 2400x1800

35mm Camera/Lens/Film: Pentax K1000 SLR, 28mm lens, Fuji Sensia 100 slides.
35mm Exposure: 12 seconds @ F8