Rare weather phenomena captured by Kimberley photographer features in 2025 Bureau of Meteorology calendar

A photograph of a rare trio of weather phenomena taken over Derby mudflats has been selected for the Bureau of Meteorology’s annual Australian Weather Calendar. Kimberley photographer JJ Rao’s image was selected out of more than 500 entries by professional and amateur photographers in the nationwide photo competition. The photograph captures a breathtaking moment where a bolt of lightning strikes the horizon in front of a rainbow that arches next to anticrepuscular rays converging at the skyline. Meteorologist Jessica Lingard said these anticrepuscular rays are an optical phenomena where sunlight and shadows are cast on tall clouds and can be visible on the opposite side of the sky to the sun from the observer’s point of view. “While it appears to converge at the horizon line, they are actually parallel lines,” Ms Lingard said. “So we’ve got the sun behind the photographer, and we can also tell that the sun is behind them because there’s also a rainbow in the photo, and a rainbow always occurs when the sun is behind the viewer. “This is an absolutely stunning photo with beautiful colours in it and three amazing weather phenomena.” Showcasing Australia’s diverse climate zones through a collection of stunning images, Western Australia led the way in this year’s calendar with four talented local photographers featured. Mr Rao said he was “pretty stoked” to find out his photograph had been selected to feature in May on the calendar. “There’s a lot of entries that are put in every year, and it’s very difficult with competitions as well, because it’s not necessarily the best photo that wins, it’s just the most unique,” he said. “I finished work just as the sun was going down, so I raced out to the spot where the colours were turning really nice and set up a camera. “Literally the third photo I took was the one, and that was the one for the whole evening... so had I been a little bit too slow, I’d have missed it.” Earlier this year, the nature photographer made national headlines after capturing one of the world’s rarest natural phenomena - red sprites - in the Kimberley during a wet season thunderstorm. Though it was his first time entering the BoM competition, Mr Rao said he hopes the calendar will spark curiosity and raise awareness about weather phenomena. “I learn something new from the calendar every year as well,” he said. “Just seeing photos from all over the country is interesting and I’m happy to share our little part of the world with the rest of the country.... little Derby has been represented!” You can explore more of JJ Rao’s work on Instagram at @nature.by.jj or on his website at https://naturebyjj.com. The 2025 Australian Weather Calendar is on sale now at https://shop.bom.gov.au/.