posted on May, 12 2009 @ 03:44 PM
It is a circumhorizontal arc. These are rare, but they do occur naturally as others have guessed. They have also been seen before large earthquakes
as well, and there are two theories about how they would result from the precursor of a quake:
1. They are a side-effect of the gasses released just prior to a large quake making it up to - or forming - the cirrus clouds.
2. Some sort of static or EM field is generated prior to the quake which aligns the ice crystals in order to produce the rainbow pattern.
I guess what I am trying to say is that they can happen before a large quake, but they do not have to. Even if they do occur prior to a quake, nobody
knows exactly what the relation is. So if you happen to see these 'rainbow clouds', pay attention to the beauty and don't panic because it is not
exactly likely a quake will hit.
Then again, if you are in a quake-prone area maybe you should take a little caution.. but Ohio? Enjoy the nature!
Nat Geo