Rare 'lightning rainbows' captured during storms in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire

Image source, Head in the clouds/大象传媒 Weather Watchers

Image caption, The lighting and a rainbow was captured by 大象传媒 Weather Watcher "Head in the clouds" in Graveley, Hertfordshire

Rare "lightning rainbows" have been photographed during the thunderstorm across parts of the East of England on Tuesday night.

The pictures were taken by 大象传媒 Weather Watchers in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Several roads in the East of England also flooded as temperatures of 30C (85F) turned to heavy rain and hail.

A weather warning for thunderstorms has been for much of England for Saturday and Sunday.

Image source, cinderemma/大象传媒 Weather Watchers

Image caption, 大象传媒 Weather Watcher "cinderemma" took this photograph in Stotfold, Central Bedfordshire

Image source, niknak1970/大象传媒 Weather Watchers

Image caption, The lightning and the rainbow was also pictured by "niknak1970" in Stotfold

Meteorologist and 大象传媒 forecaster Dan Holley said lightning and a rainbow together does not "happen particularly often in any one location, primarily because thunderstorms don't happen often".

He said it happens during a thunderstorm with "the sun shining on the falling rain to create a rainbow as the sunlight gets refracted and reflected by water droplets.

"The viewer would need to be located between the thunderstorm and the sun, with their back to the sun."

大象传媒 Weather Watchers also captured the lighting during the storms.

Image source, Mrg/大象传媒 Weather Watchers

Image caption, Flitwick, in Bedfordshire, was hit by lightning as photographed by 大象传媒 Weather Watcher "Mrg"

Image source, tommyk/大象传媒 Weather Watchers

Image caption, 大象传媒 Weather Watcher "tommyk" took this photo during the storm in Harpenden, Hertfordshire

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