RARE moonbows were photographed across the Highlands on Thursday night.

The Loch Ness RNLI team shared a snap of the rarely seen phenomenon on Thursday night as they carried out a training exercise.

And BBC weather watchers across the region also spotted the unusual sight.

A moonbow – also known as a lunar rainbow – appears when moonlight is refracted through water droplets in the air.

Moonbows look white to the human eye, but all the usual rainbow colours are there and can be captured in long-exposure photographs.

For one to occur, the moon has to be close to, or at, its fullest phase and sitting low in the sky.

The sky must be very dark, and rain has to be falling opposite the moon.

Scotland has experienced unusual weather throughout the week, with very mild temperatures for November recorded across the country.

Both Northern Ireland and Scotland might have their highest November minimum temperature on record, the Met Office said.

A yellow weather warning for wind is in place until 3pm covering Edinburgh and south towards Lockerbie.

In the north-west of Scotland, a yellow weather warning for rain is in place between midday and 3pm.