Splash of Colorful Sunrise

A bank of clouds displayed a fiery red appearance right before sunrise on Sunday, November 20, 2022 as seen from the parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The cloud tapered across half the sky (toward left in image). Image captured at 7:01 am CST. Air temperature was a frosty 12 degrees F.

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Frosty Window Feathers

 

This is how my passenger side car window appeared at 7:30 am on Sunday, November 13, 2022. The air temperature at the time was 19 degrees F. To create these shapes, water from the air lands on a really cold surface (in this case the window), and its molecules freeze and join together with other water molecules to form patterns of ice crystals. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms form a hexagon shape. If water molecules run into something like a speck of dust, salt or washer fluid, they may change direction and branch out into different feathery shapes. iPhone 11 camera.

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Time for a Cool Change

 

Aftermaths in weather conditions influenced by cold fronts following warm spells in the month of November are considerably different from their summer counterparts. Such was the situation on Thursday, November 10, 2022. By midday, temperatures had risen to the low 70s. However, the threat of approaching storms moving about 35 mph along a cold front was expected to change the summer-like conditions dramatically. The image above looks northeast from 33rd Avenue and 12th Street SW in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 2:09 pm CST. The advancing line of the storms can be seen on the horizon.

Radarscope image corresponding to the image at top. The target icon indicates my position.

2:10 pm. Looking west.

2:11 pm. Similar view.

Corresponding radar screen capture.

Storm echo tops for 2:16 pm.

2:30 pm. Looking west. Line of storms (above) are not looking particularly structured or visually appealing despite looking rather impressive on radar (below).

2:38 pm. Rain, wind and lightning (and dropping temperatures) almost upon me. Temperatures had dropped to about 57 degrees by this time. 

2:46 pm. Looking northeast. Heavy rain (and temperatures) falling. By 8:00 pm this evening, temperatures had dropped to a chilly 40 degrees. Rain persisted through the night and changed to crusty ice by morning. By 9:00 am Friday, the temperature had bottomed out at 22 degrees F--almost a 50-degree difference in just 22 hours! iPhone 11 camera.

Weather table for parts of Thursday, November 10 through Friday, November 11--showing temperatures and wind directions for Cedar Rapids during this time period. (Note: In less than 48 hours, snow began to fall).

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Beaver Blood Moon Eclipse

Just to have a sky suitable for the total lunar eclipse (blood moon) viewing early on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 was a blessing. Previous weather forecasts predicted "partly cloudy-to-cloudy" skies for this morning. In actuality, it turned out mostly clear. The location for the image above, which looks west, was Radio Road, about 1.25-mile east of Highway 13, northeast of Marion, Iowa. This is a composite image. The moon was captured at 4:17 am CST, and is a 1 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 320, 300mm focal length. The foreground was captured at 4:25 am, and is a 10 second exposure at f/3.8, ISO 250, 21mm focal length. I light-painted the road in the foreground with a small flashlight. Horizon glow at left is from city lights of Marion and Cedar Rapids. Air temperature was 37 degrees F...and my fingers soon became frozen!

Lunar eclipse progression. 300mm focal length captures. From left: 3:42 am, 3:51 am, 4:05 am, 4:14 am, 4:17 am.

Lunar eclipse closeup. 1 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 320, 300mm focal length.

4:47 am. Looking west at the eclipse from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 5 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400, 55mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

5:29 am. Looking west from 33rd Avenue at 12th Street SW. A "Beaver Moon" is defined as the first full moon occurring in the month of November. This was the second of two total lunar eclipses in 2022--the first being on May 15-16. iPhone 11 camera.

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Spooky-Good Halloween Night Conditions

No, this is not a witch flying across the moon--it's a cloud-veiled moon with a TV antenna in the foreground. The image looks south at 7:30 pm CDT on Monday, October 31, 2022 from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  But what a great evening for Halloween! Image is a one second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 100, 55mm focal length.

The weather on this evening was ideal for trick-or-treaters--55 degrees F, dew point 38 degrees, winds were light, out of the west at 2 mph when the following images were captured around 7:10 pm. 1/6 second exposure at f/4, ISO 125, 26mm focal length.

1/5 second exposure at f/4.8, ISO 100, 40mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Ever-Changing Autumn Weather Conditions in Iowa

Large contrasts in Iowa weather are common in short time segments during the fall. Above, a weak shelf cloud approaches from the west as seen from Tower Terrace Road, about .65-mile east of North Center Point Road in Hiawatha, Iowa at 3:17 pm CDT, Monday, October 24, 2022. Along the line of clouds, which would soon bring much needed rain, were low hanging scud clouds. Scud clouds are condensed as the warmer and moist air ahead of the line is saturated and pushed outward from the storm. They are often erroneously identified to the untrained eye as funnels. 

3:19 pm. Looking west at weak shelf cloud from North Center Point Road, about .15-mile south of Tower Terrace Road in Hiawatha. Air temperature was a balmy 72 degrees F, winds were out of the southeast. iPhone 11 camera.

Fast forward one day following the passing of the cold front and now the winds are out of the northwest, and temperatures are a chilly 44 degrees F. Clouds from the previous day were breaking up, producing this stunning sunset image from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids. Image captured at 6:19 pm CDT.

Panoramic version of same scene and time. Clouds and color almost have the appearance of a giant regal crown. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Hunting the Hunter's Moon

I sought a tranquil rural setting to best capture the "Hunter's Moon" on Monday evening, October 10, 2022. The moon was actually one day removed from being 100% full (98.3%), but it still promised to be quite showy. I chose a location along North Marion Road, about one-tenth mile north of County Home Road, north of Marion, Iowa. I used the Photo Pills app to gage exactly where the moon would be rising to frame it ahead of time. The image above looks east and shows the moon creeping upward from behind a grove of trees at 7:18 pm CDT. Moonrise was at 7:08 pm. Image is a 1/30 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400, 300mm focal length.

This is a composite image, with the foreground captured at 7:06 pm, and the moon at 7:20 pm. Foreground image is a one second exposure at f/4.8, ISO 200, 36mm focal length. Moon is a 1/30 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 500 and 300mm focal length. Air temperature was 58 degrees F. A "Hunter's Moon" is defined as the first full moon after the September "Harvest Moon." The name "Hunter's Moon" was adopted because of settlers using the light of the full moon to hunt fatted deer. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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