Non-Severe But Quite Photogenic

A line of non-severe-warned thunderstorms approached the Marion, Iowa area just before 4:30 PM CDT on Friday, June 27, 2014. What the storm lacked for in punch it made up for in visual quality. The line of storms formed in a bowed, gust front featuring these beautiful shelf clouds. Both of the images above were captured around 4:35 PM from Lowe Park along North 10th Street, about one mile north of Linn-Mar High School in Marion. The top image looks southwest and the bottom northwest. The facility in the background of the bottom image is Oak Ridge Middle School. Heavy rain, 30 mph winds and frequent lightning were products of this storm once it passed through.

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Long Stormy Stretch

A gust front in Eastern Iowa on the early afternoon of Sunday, June 22, 2014--at places severe-warned--extended for nearly 130 miles. It stretched from Keokuk County in the south and Winneshiek County in the north. These images of the shelf cloud along the leading edge of the gust front were taken at 12:12 PM from White Road, a half-mile east of North Alburnett Road (W58) in Linn County, about three miles north of Marion, Iowa. The top image looks SW, the bottom NW.

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Waiting For The Blow-Through

This was the appearance of the west sky as seen from White Road in Linn County, Iowa, a half-mile east of North Alburnett Road (W58) and about 4 miles north of Marion, Iowa. I had taken up a spotting position at this farm field entrance. The approaching line of storms were configured in a gust front. Photos were taken around 12:08 PM CDT, Sunday, June 22, 2014.

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Two Barks Without A Bite

The incoming shelf cloud on the leading edge of a gust front in Linn County, Iowa early Sunday afternoon on Sunday, June 22, 2014 was certainly ominous looking enough. So was the loose farm dog from down the road. The line of storms was menacing me from one direction while the snarling dog was doing the same from the other direction. Both eventually failed to bite. Although the storm dropped copious amounts of rain, wind speeds never exceeded 30-40 mph and no hail fell here despite the area being severe-warned. The top image looks west from White Road, a half-mile east of North Alburnett Road (County Highway W58), and a little over three miles north of Marion, Iowa. Weather conditions at this moment were as follows: 79 degrees F, 67 degree dew point, 67% humidity, wind SE at 9 mph--soon switching over to the NW. The bottom image is a radar screen image of the photo capture time (12:16 PM CDT). The camera location is marked with a white dot. Arrows indicate storm movement. The top image is a panorama created from two photos stitched together in Adobe Bridge.

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Nasty Night Stuff

Night or not, severe storm energy levels were significant on the evening of Monday, June 16, 2014 in Eastern Iowa. The images seen above were actually part of a second wave of storms to roll through that day. Warning sirens were blaring during the capture of the top image at 10:10 PM CDT. It looks high into the NW sky as sections of ominous clouds roll over the back of our house. The alert was not sounded because of sighted tornadoes, but because of radar-detected rotations aloft. The middle image, captured at 10:24 PM, looks west over Bowman Woods Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, at roiling clouds on the storm's approaching edge. A few moments after this image was taken I broke and ran for home--about 100 yards away--as the storm hit. It produced 40-50 mph winds, lightning and heavy rain. The bottom image shows a radar screen view of that moment.

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Rollin' And Blowin' In

These images show a line of severe-warned storms moving into the Hiawatha, Iowa area on Thursday afternoon, June 19, 2014. The top three images, looking SW, were captured at Progress Drive and Marthas Way. The times from top to bottom were: 2:17 PM CDT, 2:19 PM and 2:20 PM. Estimated wind speeds of 40-50 mph occurred as the storm blew through, accompanied by torrential rain and lightning. The bottom image is a radar capture of the moment, with the white dot as the camera location and the arrow, storm movement. Flash flood warnings were issued with this storm.

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Swirling Soil

This line of storms, passing over Archer Drive in the Marion, Iowa Bowman Meadows housing development, originated in Washington County to the south. The time for these images was about 4:45 PM CDT, Monday, June 16, 2014. Construction equipment, grading the ground for new houses, was kicking up the dry soil which the storm's high winds was carrying even higher and swirling it around, not unlike tornadic debris. The top image looks southeast, the second toward the south and the third to the west. The bottom image is a radar capture of the moment, with the camera location marked by the white dot. The arrow indicates storm movement.

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Sunset Water Tower

The last rays from the sun which had set at 8:42 PM CDT on Thursday, June 12, 2014 are shown behind the silhouetted water tower at the Linn County Care Center at 9:19 PM. This view looks northwest. The Linn County Care Center is located at the intersection of Highway 13 and County Home Road, just north of Marion, Iowa.

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Superstitious Moon

A full moon rises through a thin layer of clouds as seen in the SE sky from the Bowman Meadows housing development in Marion, Iowa on Thursday, June 12, 2014. The top image was captured at 8:53 PM CDT, the bottom at 9:02 PM. As late Thursday night became early Friday morning, the full moon became a Friday the 13th full moon. That last occurred on October 13, 2000, and the next one won't happen again until August 13, 2049. The line of clouds, which were receding to the east, prevented viewing the moon as it peeked above the horizon in this area at 8:13 PM. The spires of First United Methodist Church in Marion can barely be seen in the tree line below the moon in the top image.

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Sky Line

It was a celestial lineup late Friday night, June 6, 2014 as seen here from Power Plant Road at Lents Bottom Road, about 1.6 miles NW of Palo, Iowa. The bright object at upper left is the 0.21 magnitude planet Saturn, 0.96 magnitude star Spica at center, -0.37 magnitude planet Mars at right center and the half-moon. This image looks south and is an 8-second exposure at f/3.5, 2000 ISO, 18mm focal length.

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Silo North Stars

The north sky late on the night of Friday, June 6, 2014 provided a mixture of stars and clouds as seen from Power Plant Road at Lents Bottom Road just north of Palo, Iowa around 11:16 PM CDT. Just above the grain silo seen above are stars of the constellation Cepheus. The bright star at upper left is the 1.96 magnitude Polaris (North Star). The bright star at upper left is the 1.25 magnitude Deneb. This image is a 20-second exposure at f/3.5, 2000 ISO and 18mm focal length.

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Rolling Scud

This low hanging scud made me give it more than a cursory glance for possible rotation. There was none. Despite this, the formations were on the leading edge of an approaching severe storm cell, seen here on Tuesday evening, May 20, 2014. Both images look north along St. Peters Road, about .2-mile north of Midway Road, and about 2.5 miles north of Robins, Iowa. The top image was captured at 7:28 PM CDT, the bottom at 7:32 PM. Vicious lightning, heavy rain and pea size hail followed this cell as it passed overhead.

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