Frigid Air Phenomena

Driving to work early Monday morning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa I beheld a curious sight ahead of me. It was a stretched illuminated area, low along the horizon that gave the impression of a sunrise. But not at 5:30 in the morning in January! As it turned out, frigid air (-10 degrees at that moment) was interacting with water vapor expelled from the nearby ADM plant in Southwest Cedar Rapids, and that cooled water vapor was being illuminated by city lights. It also resembled noctilucent lights, which are rare, and do not occur at this latitude or month. Above, the camera looks east from 33rd Avenue at 12th Street SW at 5:33 am CST, Monday, January 3, 2022.

Another view of this curiosity, looking northeast at 5:42 am. iPhone 13 camera.

3:43 pm CST, Wednesday, January 5, 2022. High winds were blowing snow and ice crystals aloft, creating sun dogs both in the morning and again in the evening. This image looks southwest from Alburnett Road near Flight Drive in the Bowman Meadows housing development of Marion, Iowa. Air temperature was 12 degrees F, winds were out of the northwest at 10-20 mph.

Similar view at 3:48 pm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.