White Christmas Assured

A snow storm that occurred over the night of Saturday, December 21-Sunday, December 22, 2013, dumped four-plus inches of snow on this location at Boyson Park in Marion, Iowa, near its border with Cedar Rapids. The images show the sky beginning to clear as the snow fall petered out. The top image shows a footbridge over Dry Run Creek around 9:18 AM CST on December 22. The bottom image shows a nearby trail a little over ten minutes later. Air temperature was 23 degrees F.

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Shining Through Altocumulus

The eastern sky was crowded with altocumulus clouds (a precursor to the arrival of freezing rain in less than 24 hours here) on Wednesday evening, December 18, 2013, but it wasn't enough to cover the brightest objects in the sky. The moon, just past full, kept its disk shape amid the drifting clouds, while the -2.66 magnitude planet Jupiter--about 5 degrees from the moon--blinked in and out of the openings. These images were captured from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top image was shot around 8:44 PM CST with a 1.3-second exposure at f/11, 2000 ISO and 38mm focal length. The bottom image was shot three minutes later with a 1.2-second exposure at f/11, 2000 ISO and 86mm focal length.

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Winter Skies Are Showing

Subtle altocumulus dominated skies were seen over the front roof of our house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa 20 minutes after sunset on Monday, December 2, 2013. This image looks west around 4:55 PM CST. The temperature was around 38 degrees F.

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Cloudy Here, Severe To The East

Low level stratus clouds and a more winter-like appearance prevailed just before 8:00 AM on Sunday, November 17, 2013 (top image) as seen from the parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The image looks northwest. Light rain and temperatures nearing 60 degrees F were the existing weather conditions. Further east and hours later an unusual soup of unstable and spring-like ingredients created 88 tornado occurrences in the states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, killing seven people and laying waste to the town of Washington, Illinois. The bottom image shows a map of tornado and funnel sightings on November 17.

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Comet ISON Wasn't Ready To Reveal Itself Yet

With just a small window of opportunity to glimpse the Comet ISON in mid-November with its rising just before the Sun, I had hoped to catch it on the early morning of Friday, November 15, 2013. Alas, it was hidden by low stratus clouds as seen in this view looking southeast from the Bowman Meadows housing development in Marion, Iowa around 5:48 AM CST. The -0.32 magnitude planet Mercury can be seen in the cloud cover at left center, and above and right of Mercury is is the 0.96 magnitude star Spica. Hidden between them is ISON. This image is a 22 second exposure at f/7.1, 1000 ISO and 18mm focal length. Several seconds of exposure was probably necessary to make the comet visible.

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Crescent Moon, Crescent Venus

Both the moon and Venus were in their crescent phases as seen in the southwest sky from Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Wednesday evening, November 6, 2013. The top image was taken around 5:14 PM CST, the middle at 5:23 PM, and the bottom at 5:33 PM. Venus, just 10 degrees in the sky from the moon on this evening, is actually at its brightest when it is in its crescent phase (it's closer to Earth then). This evening it shone at a sparkling -4.45 magnitude. Air temperature was around 35 degrees F.

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Back End Of Severe Storm

This northeast view from my vehicle's driver side window shows the back end of a severe storm that was producing a wall cloud and funnel around 5:24 PM, Wednesday, June 12, 2013. In the foreground is 255th Street (County Highway D34), a quarter mile west of Highway 13, between the Iowa towns of Manchester and Ryan. The storm was moving left-to-right in this image. The dark cloud at right contained a funnel at this moment. This day had a high risk for severe weather placed on the area by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).

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Brilliant Autumn Leaf Canopy

Looking up through the branches of a sugar maple tree located in Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 3:20 PM, Friday, November 1, 2013. While most other tree's foliage have now lost their luster in this area, a small group of maples in the park still blaze forth.

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Short And Brilliant Break In The Clouds

A brief lull in rain activity allowed this brilliant sunset view as seen from Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 6:09 PM CDT, Wednesday, October 30, 2013. The lower level clouds (foreground) were racing from left-to-right in relation to the upper cloud base while surface winds were relatively calm. Air temperature was a mild 57 degrees F.

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Madeline Island Sunset

The sky and water of Lake Superior appeared as if on fire as the sun set in the western sky around 8:00 PM,  Monday, July 11, 2005. This image was captured from near Woods Manor on Madeline Island, Wisconsin. Also seen in the background is the last ferry of the day for the island, headed back to the town of Bayfield on the mainland.

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Which Way To Hidden Canyon?

Fog kept the upper portions of the rock faces at Zion National Park in Utah hidden from view on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. This image looks northwest at 10:35 AM from the Observation Point Trail, near the junction of the Hidden Canyon Trail.

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Rain Clouds At The Foot Of Angel's Landing

Rain clouds mix above the rock formations as seen looking away from the foot of Angel's Landing at Zion National Park in Utah. This shuttle bus stop area of Zion is known as "Big Bend." This image, looking east, was captured at 3:06 PM MDT on Tuesday, September 10, 2013.

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Seriously, In October?

Leaves should have been falling here on Tuesday morning, October 22, 2013, but instead it was snow.The early wintery conditions deposited less than an inch of snow at this location--on Progress Drive in Hiawatha, Iowa--about .3-mile SE of Fay Clark Park. This image looks northeast around 8:40 AM. Air temperature was 33 degrees F.

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Autumn Sunset

Brilliant sunset at 6:15 PM, Saturday, October 19, 2013, as seen from Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Official sunset was at 6:18 PM.

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Last Show At Backbone

Backbone State Park in northwest Delaware County, Iowa still had plenty to show despite being about a week past its peak foliage time. Maple trees still blazed forth on this dreary and light rainy day. The top image--shot around 2:00 PM, Saturday, October 19, 2013--was captured near the entrance to the park's prominent cave entrance. The bottom image--shot 15 minutes earlier--shows a hillside featuring Balanced Rock (left).

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Power Points

A small portion of the vast wind farm located north of Palm Springs, California is seen just after 5:00 PM PDT on Saturday, September 7, 2013. Rain clouds and breaks in the rain clouds are seen here. The top image looks SW on Twentynine Palms Highway (Highway 62), just northeast of Seely Road and 16th Avenue, about 1.3 miles north of Interstate 10 and and 5.5 miles NW of Palm Springs. The bottom looks SW from Worsley Road, just SW of 18th Avenue and north of Interstate 10 and about 5 miles NW of Palm Springs. In the background of both images are the 10,833-foot San Jacinto Peak.

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Fog Hats At Zion

The tops of the rock formations in Zion National Park, Utah are cloaked with fog as seen in this south-looking view around 10:26 AM, Tuesday, September 10, 2013. This image was captured along the Angel's Landing Trail. Weather conditions this entire day saw fog ebbing and flowing from the tops of the Zion rock faces, including Angel's Landing itself.

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Rock Huggers

Clouds billow and roll over the tops of rock formations in Zion National Park, Utah in these two images captured from the park's Watchman Trail just before 4:00 PM MDT on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. The area at lower left in the top image is part of the park's visitor center parking lot. Clouds came and went during this day, even producing flash flooding in the park.

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Colorado Overflight

My window seat aboard Allegiant Flight 433 from Moline, Illinois to Las Vegas, Nevada provided these southerly views from above 30,000 feet just after 2:00 PM MDT, Friday, September 6, 2013. The top image shows Colorado Springs at center with the edge of the Rocky Mountains at right. Pikes Peak (14,114 feet) is just out of the image at lower right. At upper right is the 11,784-foot Saint Charles Peak, about 65 miles away. The middle and bottom images--taken minutes later-- show the aircraft flying into a cumulus cloud, with the Sangre de Cristo mountain range of Colorado visible in the distance. At this time the aircraft was about 550 miles NE of Las Vegas.

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Flood Warning Posting

This sign, placed at the Riverside Walk trailhead in Zion National Park on Wednesday afternoon, September 11, 2013, warns of possible flash flooding ahead. The Narrows, an area of the Virgin River situated between close canyon walls at the end of this trail, was inundated by continuous rain and was posted as being closed. Many hikers wade through the water there when the levels are low enough.

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Peak Color At Palisades Kepler

Cool and crisp temperatures (lower 60s) on Saturday afternoon, October 12, 2013 provided beautiful foliage color along the main trail at Palisades Kepler State Park near Mount Vernon, Iowa. The beautiful sunny conditions accentuated the peak reds, oranges and yellows of the oaks and maples there. This  image was captured at 3:35 PM CDT.

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Wingin' It Past Lake Powell

Aboard our homeward flight--Allegiant Flight 432--from Las Vegas, Nevada to Moline, Illinois around 9:05 MDT, Friday, September 13, 2013. The image looks north from around 30,000 feet at the Lake Powell region of southern Utah. Spotty cumulus clouds are seen at upper right.

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I'll Follow The Sun

This was the scene in the southwest sky (top image) and the west sky (bottom) just before 7:00 PM, CDT, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 as observed from the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top image shows a waxing crescent moon paired with the -4.23 magnitude planet Venus (right of tower). The bottom image captured crepuscular rays. Sunset was officially 6:34 PM.

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Foggy Mountain Trail Down

Clouds of fog rolled over the rock formations as we descended the Observation Point Trail in Zion National Park on Wednesday, September 11, 2013. This image, taken at 10:00 AM MDT, shows the fog shrouded Angel's Landing (background, right), with the so-called (pipe) organ formation at right foreground, below and beyond the evergreen tree. At center is the Virgin River. At this point our objective was the nearby Hidden Canyon Trail, which forked off from this trail a short distance ahead.

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Hot Wind Farm

Hot desert air drives many of the wind turbines located at this wind farm in front of San Jacinto Peak just north of Palm Springs, California around 8:10 AM PDT on Sunday morning, September 8, 2013. The image looks west just east of North Indian Canyon Drive. Temperatures here would rise above 100 degrees F on this day.

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Precarious Position In Echo Canyon

These dark and foreboding images of Echo Canyon in Zion National Park weren't without apprehension. This point of the Observation Point Trail in the canyon narrowed at a very low area which allowed water to pool to a point where it blocked the trail to a depth of about 2-3 feet. With the prospect of very wet feet beyond this point--not even halfway along the four-mile trail--my wife and I decided to turn back. This probably proved to be a prudent choice--hours later continued rain caused a blast of flash flooding further down the trail. The area in the images above most likely would have been blocked by deep and fast flowing water, stranding us above it. The top image, taken at 9:45 AM, MDT on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, looks past the blocked point and shows pools of water draining into it. The bottom image, taken a few minutes later, looks back toward the direction we had hiked from--and reluctantly returned to. The bottom image also shows fog that prevailed throughout Zion on this day.

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Cumulus Formation Over San Jacinto

Essentially the same image as my previous day's posting, only during the day. A cumulus cloud forms over hot terrain and above San Jacinto Peak near Palm Springs, California around 2:32 PM PDT on Sunday, September 8, 2013. The peak appears to the southwest in this view from just in front of Dillon Road, 15 miles away in Desert Hot Springs.

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San Jacinto Moon

This image captures a waxing crescent moon setting behind the 10,834-foot-high San Jacinto Peak, located near Palm Springs, California. The peak is located about 15 miles to the southwest of this position along Dillon Road in the nearby town of Desert Hot Springs. A small light seen at left on the mountain is the top of its tramway. The photo is a 25-second exposure at f/6.3, 500 ISO and 52mm focal length, taken around 8:15 PM PDT, Sunday, September 8, 2013. The bands of light along the image's bottom are from automobile headlights and taillights, created from the extended exposure.

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Pea Soup In The Park

These views of the beautiful Zion National Park rock monolith known as Angel's Landing were clouded by heavy fog as seen from the park's Observation Point Trail around 10:12 AM MDT, Wednesday, September 11, 2013. The fog would lift, bringing near-clearing, then close back in again.

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Descent Into Oblivion?

The top image is my favorite taken in Zion National Park in Utah. My wife Sue and I had just emerged from a low-lying trail inside Hidden Canyon, much of the time concerned about the potential for flash flooding while we negotiated it. From there, the trail takes a quick upward climb then back down, along the sandstone wall, assisted by mounted chains in dangerous places. In the top image, Sue makes her way down the trail with a fog-hidden abyss of about 1,000 feet just beyond the trees in front of her. As the couple in the bottom image appeared and carefully made their way up and around us, the man exclaimed, "You're not one of those who take people's pictures and then charges them for it, are you?" From here, the trail takes a horseshoe shape to the right and down. Images were captured at 11:23 AM MDT, Wednesday, September 11, 2013.

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Rock Jet

A jet of fog is blown off the peak of a rock formation located near the Zion National Park visitor's center in Utah by strong upper level winds around 4:42 PM MDT, Wednesday, September 11, 2013. The image looks toward the southwest from near The Watchman Trail. This day in the park was marked by rain, then clearing, then rain again.

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Veiled Rocks At Zion

High humidity due to intermittent light rain produced the fog shrouds that veiled these rocky monoliths in Zion National Park in southwest Utah. This image looks northeast from a parking lot just outside the park entrance check point at 9:00 AM MDT, Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Continuing rain brought flash flooding to various areas of the park.

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Soap Brush From The Sky?

Resembling a giant soap brush scrubbing the land as it goes, this menacing looking shelf cloud rides a squall line as it approaches the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa just before 6:30 PM, Thursday, September 19, 2013. As it passed, the later summer storm brought high winds, rain and lightning. These images look northwest.

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Unexpected Waterfall In Zion

Weeping Rock at Zion National Park in Utah gets its name from ground water--under normal conditions-- seeping down from above causing a "drip-drip" effect along the lower edge of the alcove overhang. Damp moss along the rim gives it a striking "hanging gardens" visual appearance. However, when rain is heavy and persistent the weeping can turn into a full-fledged "sob." These two images taken around 12:37 PM, MDT on Wednesday, September 11, 2013, show the latter condition. A resumption of continuous rain suddenly changed the "drip-drip" to an avalanche of water, rock and soil spilling over the Weeping Rock alcove rim (top image) in just over a half-hour's time. In the bottom image, alarmed and awestruck tourists observe and photograph the event from under the shelter of the alcove.

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