The sky above Washington put on an incredible show Thursday, starting in the late afternoon and continuing past dark. The quintuple-feature starred a towering thunderhead, menacing shelf cloud, vibrant rainbow, glorious sunset and concluded with a fireball that shot across the night sky.
1. A towering cumulonimbus cloud
The show began with a towering thunderhead or cumulonimbus cloud that unleashed a swift downpour as it darted through the District. The mushroom-shaped cloud posed over the Capitol right around 5 p.m. — its apex looming over the great rotunda.