End Of Winter Storm Days

Maybe not as far off as the Mayan "end of days" prediction, but the forecast for a foot or more of snow for Cedar Rapids, Iowa did not materialize following a large winter storm that passed through the area on Thursday, December 20, 2012. Although more than a foot of the white stuff fell in Central Iowa, only about seven inches came down in the scene from the top image here, along Brentwood Drive NE, just about .1-mile south of Boyson Road. The image, shot around 5:55 PM CDT, looks south as clouds overhead begin to break up. Temperature was 25 degrees F, from a daytime high of 31 degrees, and winds were gusting from 20-30 mph. The storm's snow, ice and wind did sag branches and power lines, cutting power in some places. The bottom image shows a corresponding Quad Cities NWS radar capture from that moment, with the bulk of the storm already in Illinois. The top image is a 1.4-second exposure at f/3.5, 400 ISO and 18mm focal length.