VNR: UH expert reveals why Hawaiʻi is World’s Rainbow Capital

Contact:

Link to video and sound: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/1c5pyUwaI3
***VOSOT script below for consideration***
(Please credit Steve Businger for rainbow photos/video)

WHAT: National Find a Rainbow Day on April 3, and Hawaiʻi is the "Rainbow Capital of the World"

WHO: Steve Businger, a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 3, 2024

WHY: Everyone loves Rainbows! They are some of the most spectacular optical phenomena on Earth, and Hawaiʻi has an abundance of them.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

• When the Sun is lower than 42 degrees above the horizon, you have the chance of seeing rainbows. But if the sun is too high, then you have to be in a helicopter or you have to have a lawn sprinkler to be able to see a rainbow.
• Climate change is impacting the distribution of rainfall across the Earth. The subtropics will see a bit less rainfall and a bit less rainbows, and further north with less snow, more rain and more convective showers, we'll see more rainbows.
• Businger developed a free app available for your smartphone that can help you find rainbows called RainbowChase. The app knows where the Sun and rain are and shows you where to go on a map of Hawaiʻi when rainbows are possible.
• Hawaiʻi is the rainbow capital of the world because they are so common here, and our weather is characterized by small showers and lots of blue sky that allows the Sun to get in to illuminate the raindrops. Another aspect that makes Hawaiʻi perfect for rainbows is that we have very clean air.

VIDEO B-ROLL: (1 minute, 17 seconds)

0:00-1:17 - Rainbows in Hawai'i
(Please credit Steve Businger for rainbow photos/video)

SOUNDBITES:

Steve Businger, UH atmospheric sciences professor (11 seconds)
"Rainbows are such a spectacular phenomenon, and they're very common in Hawaiʻi. In fact, compared to other places I have dubbed Hawaiʻi the rainbow capital of the world."

Businger (20 seconds)
"Another aspect of Hawaiʻi's climate that is conducive for rainbow sightings is the convective nature of our rainfall. Our clouds tend to be pretty vigorous in their updrafts and they produce rain easily and that allows for more rainbows."

VOSOT script

INTRO
Today is National Find a Rainbow Day and a UH expert has dubbed Hawaiʻi the "Rainbow Capital of the World."

VO
Professor Steve Businger (BUS-ing-err) explains that Hawaiʻi has so many rainbows because we have very clean air and ideal weather conditions. Those conditions are small rain showers and lots of blue sky that allows the Sun to get in to illuminate the raindrops.

SOT

(Steve Businger, UH atmospheric sciences professor)
<"Rainbows are such a spectacular phenomenon, and they're very common in Hawaiʻi. In fact, compared to other places I have dubbed Hawaiʻi the rainbow capital of the world.">

Businger
<"Another aspect of Hawaiʻi's climate that is conducive for rainbow sightings is the convective nature of our rainfall. Our clouds tend to be pretty vigorous in their updrafts and they produce rain easily and that allows for more rainbows.">

VO
Businger developed a free app for your smartphone that can help you find rainbows. The app knows where the Sun and rain are and shows you where to go on a map of Hawaiʻi when rainbows are possible. The app is called RainbowChase and is available on Android and iPhone.