A Blip in a Quiet Season

Eastern Iowa, and more specifically the Cedar Rapids metro area has been abnormally quiet when it comes to severe weather thus far in 2025. So even though some non-severe storms moved through the area on Tuesday, June 3, I was ready with my camera. The above image looks northeast as seen from the Lowe Park ball diamond parking lot in Marion, Iowa at 4:27 pm CDT. The leading edge of the storm can be seen at right background as it passed overhead and toward the "two o'clock" position of this image.

4:29 pm. Looking southeast. Cloud movement here was right-to-left. This storm cell produced moderate amounts of lightning, wind and rain. Nikon Z6ii camera.

This Radarscope image from 4:26 pm shows the line of non-severe storms, with my position indicated by a white target icon. Some isolated tornado-warned areas near Mount Pleasant and Burlington in southeastern Iowa did form from this system.

4:31 pm. Radarscope reflectivity (top) and velocity images.

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Smoke Screen

 

An observed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) observed on Saturday, May 31, 2025 and directed toward Earth promised a G4-class solar storm and probable significant aurora (northern lights) displays as far south as the midsection of the United States. There was just one problem: ongoing Canadian wildfires emanating from Manitoba and Ontario were drifting south and southeast veiling those skies in a layer of thin but opaque smoke. The smoke did enhance the appearance of the sun and moon but blocked most stars and the accompanying ghostly auroras. An example of an enhanced sun is seen above, looking east from the parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 7:34 am on Sunday, June 1, 2025.

NOAA wildfire smoke forecast map for Monday, June 2, with an arrow showing my location.

12:30 am CDT, Monday, June 2, 2025. With high hopes but ultimately with nothing to show for it, I positioned myself on North Marion Road, about 2.2 miles north of County Home Road, and about 1.5 miles southeast of Alburnett, Iowa in Linn County. At first I hoped the luminous area seen above was aurora, but it didn't move or fluctuate, so I quickly realized this was a hazy reflection from a town--in this case Central City, Iowa.

Aurora Alerts app for 12:25 am, June 2. The southern penetration of the aurora covers most of Iowa.

12:41 am. June 2. Looking west. An example of an enhanced setting crescent moon. Because of wildfire smoke the moon appears orange. 8 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 1250, 24mm focal length.

12:42 am. June 2. Looking north. A final attempt to capture even a faint glimpse of aurora. But only the brightest stars at top appear in this 20 second exposure. Left empty handed.

Next night/morning. 12:31 am CDT, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Looking north from a parking lot at Lowe Park in Marion, Iowa. Again, nothing but the brightest stars and terrestrial light sources are visible. (Possible dim aurora just right of the smaller tree).

12:33 am. Similar shot from near the Lowe Park ball diamond. Drifting clouds--not aurora--are seen at upper left. Nikon Z6ii camera.

Aurora Alerts images and data for 12:41 am. Very frustrating and disappointing as a cameraman in response to the no-show!

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Mare's Tail Memorial Weekend

 

Skies were sunny with wisps of "Mare's Tails" cirrus clouds in the skies during the morning and afternoon hours of Friday, May 23, 2025 -- Memorial Day weekend. Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 60s, making it ideal to pay respects to departed relatives in central Iowa. The above image was captured at 9:35 am CDT at Cambridge Cemetery, near the town of Cambridge in Story County.

10:05 am. Front view of White Oak Cemetery in the unincorporated town of White Oak in Polk County.

10:27 am. Cory Grove Church just outside Byers Cemetery, near the town of Elkhart in Polk County.

2:27 pm. Veteran's area of Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines. "Mare's tails" (cirrus uncinus) are hook-shaped clouds that form high in the atmosphere. The clouds are often associated with an approaching warm front and can signal that rain is on the way.

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Beautiful Sky for Opening Night

It was opening night for a new season of slow-pitch softball action at Tait Cummins Sports Complex on C Street SW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Monday, May 12, 2025 and the heavens seemed to be celebrating as well with an included brilliant sunset. This image was captured at 8:34 pm CDT. Sunset was officially at 8:18 pm. iPhone 11 camera.

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East Bust

 

The Storm Prediction Center's (SPC) outlooks for the state of Iowa early in the morning of Monday, April 28, 2025 seemed to indicate significant tornado, hail and wind areas (above). 

I made the decision to leave home and target New Hampton, Iowa in Chickasaw County for a possible intercept, which was well within the posted SPC Moderate Risk zone. Storms had begun to fire up in far western Iowa, and I reasoned more storms would do the same near this location. Northbound on US Highway 63 just south of New Hampton at 3:06 pm CDT, a small storm cell to my west (above) displayed some promising convection, but it soon dissipated.

3:25 pm. Tornado Watch 181 (above) was issued for a large portion of northern Iowa. Another promising development. After about 30 minutes, however, it was becoming apparent no significant storm cells were developing near me in New Hampton, so I decided to pack up and head west toward Mason City on US Highway 18, where a line of severe warned storms was ongoing.

5:23 pm. Looking northwest at the line of severe warned storms as seen from the interchange of US Highway 18 and Interstate 35 near Clear Lake and just west of Mason City in Cerro Gordo County.

5:54 pm. Looking northwest at a tornado warned area of the storm system as seen from the Interstate 35 rest area near Dows, Iowa in Franklin & Wright counties. The warned area was still some 85 miles distant and moving east.

Radarscope image for 6:22 pm. My location is indicated by the blue target icon.

6:48 pm. Severe warned cells and the setting sun looking northwest beyond my vehicle, located atop the Mallard Avenue overpass on US Highway 18 just southwest of Mason City, Iowa.

Radarscope image corresponding to the photo above it. Note the tornado warned polygon near the Albert Lea area of Minnesota. Storms were creeping closer to me but daylight was now waning fast and I was a long way from home.

7:44 pm. I was now heading back homeward, but the distant pursuing storm clouds were putting on a visual show, as this image looking west from near Waverly, Iowa in Bremer County attests.

8:13 pm. One last stop and look back: looking northwest at backlit storm clouds from the intersection of Reed Avenue (County Road V49, foreground) and Highway 3 (background) just north of Readlyn, Iowa in Bremer County. The capture of the distant cloud images was the best I could accomplish on this day, as severe weather never really materialized in eastern Iowa. In other words, the Moderate Risk was a bust here. Sunset was at 8:00 pm. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Three Planets and a Moon

 

5:43 am CDT, Saturday, April 26, 2025. Looking east from south of Alburnett Road and Bowstring Drive in Marion, Iowa. At left is thin crescent moon, right of the moon toward center is the dim 0.46 magnitude planet Mercury. At upper right is the -4.24 magnitude planet Venus. Below and right of Venus is the 1.40 magnitude planet Saturn. Image is a 1/320 second exposure at f/7.1, ISO 4000, 56mm focal length. Air temperature was 40 degrees F. The previous evening the celestial bodies formed a "smiley face," but it was unfortunately cloudy. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Ran Out of Steam

 

Two severe warned storm cells were moving relentlessly east toward my home area in Iowa during the evening of Wednesday, April 23, 2025, so I quickly took up a spotting position to intercept it at the Linn Cooperative Oil Company facility on Burnett Station Road, just west of Highway 13, and about 3.3 miles east of Alburnett, Iowa. And wouldn't you know it, minutes later it weakened and the severe warning tag was dropped. The 7:27 pm CDT Radarscope image from above shows the severe warned polygon to my west (my location is the blue target icon), just before it ran out of steam.

A west facing view of the approaching storm from my location at 7:26 pm--corresponding to the radar image.

7:44 pm. Despite no longer being severe warned, this storm produced frequent lightning and prominent rain shafts (seen beneath its base). Nikon Z6ii camera.

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