Beautiful double rainbow surprises shoppers at Bristol Sainsbury's

People were quick to take out their smartphones to try and capture the colourful display. Credit: BPM Media

There was an upside to a downpour of rain for shoppers leaving a Sainsbury's supermarket in Bristol on Monday 1 April.

A huge double rainbow greeted them as they left the store. The stunning sight wowed shoppers at the Castle Court Sainsbury's in Brislington on Easter Monday afternoon.

People were quick to take out their phones to try and capture the beautiful display.Claire Gillis from Bristol said: "I have never seen anything like this. A lovely surprise coming out of Sainsbury’s amidst the rain."

According to the Met Office, double rainbows are formed when sunlight is reflected twice within a raindrop, with the violet light that reaches the observer's eye coming from the higher raindrops and the red light from lower raindrops.

It says: "This means the sequence of colours is inverted compared to the primary rainbow, with the secondary bow appearing about 10 degrees above the primary bow.

"Surprisingly, this phenomenon is actually relatively common, especially at times when the sun is low in the sky such as in the early morning or late afternoon.

"The second rainbow is fainter and more 'pastel' in tone than the primary rainbow because more light escapes from two reflections compared to one."