Updrafts, Down Drifts

On successive days (July 14 and July 15, 2023), there were thunderstorms in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area, featuring storm updrafts and at the same time enhanced sunsets influenced by drifting smoke from Canadian wildfires. The panoramic image above looks southeast at a line of departing severe-warned storms as seen from Bowstring Drive and Alburnett Road in the Bowman Meadows housing development in Marion, Iowa at 4:47 pm CDT on Friday, July 14.

4:49 pm. A closer view of the most intense area of this storm. The top of the updraft features a pileus cap, rising some 30,000 feet into the atmosphere. Pileus are created from strong updrafts at lower altitudes, acting upon moist air above.

Radarscope image of the storm for 4:40 pm, showing echo tops data from the most intense area (right).

7:05 pm CDT, Saturday, July 15. The skies were very hazy due to Canadian wildfires, creating a vivid sun. A severe-warned storm cell was approaching, tracking southeast from the Waterloo, Iowa area, and it was now visible from my spotting position on White Road, about a quarter mile east of Alburnett Road north of Marion, and beginning to cover over the setting sun. The severe warning was lifted around 7:20 pm, and the storm continued to weaken despite striking visual appearances.

7:35 pm. Looking northwest. The storm's anvil can be seen in the distant background, with the approaching stormy area low on the horizon. The sun is beginning to disappear behind the cell.

7:41 pm. Similar image, with the sun now hidden behind the storm.

8:01 pm. Looking northwest. The base of the storm is now passing overhead and the sun has re-emerged from beneath it. A mixture of rain and smoky air causes the sun to shine weakly.

 

8:03 pm. Similar panoramic image. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.