I'm Dreaming of a (WHAT?) Christmas

Probably the best Christmas ever (weatherwise) for me! On this day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the temperature topped out at 59 degrees F, an all-time record by one degree. Records indicated it was even warmer than the previous Mother's Day! Above, the sun shines over a rural Shueyville, Iowa pond at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, December 25, 2019. Despite the warmth, the pond still had some five-inch-thick ice covering it.

Similar capture at the same time. iPhone 6-Plus camera.

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Moon and Planets on Frosty Night

A full moon is shown rising from behind Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 5:21 pm CST, Wednesday, December 11, 2019. This image is a 1/40 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400 and 55mm focal length. The moon was rated 99.9% full at this moment.

In the southwest sky, two minutes later, the planets Venus and Saturn were positioned within two degrees of one another. The brighter Venus gleamed at magnitude -3.95 while the fainter Saturn shown at magnitude 0.57. This image is a 1/40 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 1250 and 55mm focal length. Air temperature was a frosty 15 degrees F. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Cold Front Creates a "Snow Squall Warning"

A sudden burst of falling snow officially became a "Snow Squall Warning" in Cedar Rapids, Iowa during the early afternoon of Monday, December 9, 2019. A Radarscope capture from 12:39 pm CST, complete with a blue polygon is shown above, indicating a very thin but intense line of precipitation moving east.

Meanwhile, on the ground, this was the view looking west toward Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids during the snow squall. The above image was captured at 12:35 pm.

This image, and the one below it were 12:37 pm captures. Air temperature was at 28 degrees F, falling from 41 degrees just a few hours before. Air temperature would continue to fall to 16 degrees by day's end. Snow squalls are sometimes accompanied by gusty winds and whiteout conditions, and are in essence a winter version of a severe thunderstorm warning from warmer months. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Venus/Jupiter Conjunction...With a Little Help From Saturn

After sunset on Sunday, November 24, 2019, the planets Venus and Jupiter set in the western sky within about one degree of each another and provided a beautiful display for sky viewers. Venus shown at -3.93 magnitude and Jupiter at -1.84. This image (above), captured at 5:36 pm CST,  is a 1.3 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 200 and 55mm focal length. The camera looks west from Alburnett Road and Flight Drive in Marion, Iowa. Air temperature was 39 degrees F.

Also in the same general vicinity of the Venus/Jupiter conjunction was the 0.58 magnitude planet Saturn (upper left). Image is a 1.6 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 200 and 25mm focal length. In the foreground is the Bowman Meadows housing development. Official sunset on this day was 4:39 pm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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One Tornado Or Two?

Circumstances from the tornado intercept in Johnson County Iowa on Saturday, May 24, 2019 left me a little bit in the dark for a while as to whether we had witnessed one tornado or two during the event. In the image above, there is no doubt, as a violent twister is shown on the ground to our northwest from this spotting position on 540th Street SW about 3.4 miles WSW of Hills, Iowa at 6:48 pm CDT.

6:55 pm. Still in the same spotting position and looking NNE. The condensation funnel appears to have lifted, but ground circulation is still evident.

7:03 pm and mobile now on Bayertown Road SW, about 3.9 miles west of Hills. Same parent cloud, but now with just a ragged lowering where the tornado had been.

A minute later and now the cloud sports the ragged wall cloud AND a funnel, which briefly touched down as I caught a glimpse of its ground debris while we were mobile. The fact that I had not previously reviewed pic number three--which shows no funnel less than a minute before the image above--is a good indication that these were in fact two separate tornadoes (albeit cyclic, from the same parent cloud). The original confusion began as a consequence of the disengagement of our spotting position and relocation to the road. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Frozen Shadows

The flat portion of Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids near its eastern edge provides for an even covering of frost on many clear chilly mornings. As the sun rises (from upper right), the frost burns off. But cooler tree-shaded areas provide a last haven for the frost as seen in these two images captured on Saturday morning, October 26, 2019. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Halloween Cold Spot

5.8 inches of snow from a recent snowfall event and 27-degree F air temperatures at the time of this photo capture of the front of our house on Halloween night made for less than ideal conditions for the trick-or-treaters. The image above, captured at 7:21 pm CDT on Thursday, October 31, 2019,  is a half-second exposure at f/3.8, ISO 100 and 22mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Not Ready For This!

Autumn took a turn for the worse in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area on the night of October 28-29, 2019 with a total of 3.3 inches of snow falling, and just two days before Halloween. Images above and below were captured by my iPhone 6 Plus at 8:01 am CDT, and look east from Progress Drive at Martha's Way in Hiawatha. Temperature was 23 degrees F. Many smaller trees, still laden with leaves, drooped under the weight of the snow flocking. Fog also formed in the early morning hours of October 29. More snow was soon to follow, starting on the afternoon/evening of Wednesday, October 30.

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Minnesota Vacation Leftovers

Altocumulus clouds and a tranquil shoreline of Lake Superior at Grand Marais created a mirror-like reflection on the evening of Saturday, August 31, 2019. The structure at right is the Coast Guard building.

9:17 pm CDT, Saturday, August 31, 2019. Looking southwest at Milky Way as seen from the Lake Superior shoreline at Grand Marais. Image is a ten second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 8000 and 11mm focal length.

9:58 pm. Same view. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 6400 and 11mm focal length. The Milky Way's core is flanked by the planets Saturn (magnitude 0.32, left), and Jupiter (magnitude -2.21).

6:54 am CDT, Monday, September 2, 2019. Brilliant sunrise at Grand Marais harbor.

7:08 am. Pastel morning skies over Lake Superior at Grand Marais harbor. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Weather Forecasters

The image above and the two below show an extensive altocumulus cloud formation during the evening of Thursday, September 26, 2019. The three images were captured from 6:18-6:24 pm CDT and look west over Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The formation preceded showers in the area, which arrived a few hours later. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Storm Tops Caught by the Setting Sun

The last light from the setting sun caught the cloud tops of a severe storm in Eastern Iowa on the evening of Wednesday, September 11, 2019. This panorama image looks northeast at a severe-warned storm located about 35 miles distant, near Cascade, Iowa in Dubuque County. Camera's location is from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Image was captured from  at 7:19 pm CDT.

7:21 pm. Zoomed-in view of the storm's hot spot. Official sunset was at 7:23 pm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Grand Marais Sunrise

More pics from latest vacation. I positioned myself at the Grand Marais, Minnesota Lake Superior harbor during the early morning of Monday, September 2, 2019. This image was captured near where fishermen put their boats in, and many were doing so before sunrise. Scattered clouds promised a good colorful sky. Time for this shot was 6:24 am CDT. It is a 1/60 second exposure at f/9, ISO 160 and 25mm focal length.

6:36 am. Now atop a nearby rock outcropping. Image is a 1/50 second exposure at f/9, ISO 160, 18mm focal length.

6:56 am. From same position as second image. A small fog bank was drifting toward shore in the this capture looking southeast. Fishing craft can be seen in the distant background. 1/500 second exposure at f/11, ISO 125, 130mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Summerlike Storm

A severe thunderstorm warning alert sounded in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area at 2:39 pm CDT, Wednesday, September 18, 2019. With just a few official days left of summer, it turned out to be a very summer-like storm, with high humidity and very warm temperatures. At 3:00 pm I headed home from work, a little concerned that I would not be able to set up my vehicle for spotting in time, but in short order headed north on Alburnett Road through Marion. I captured the above shot at 3:26 pm--looking north at a very large shelf cloud from just a tenth-mile north of Tower Terrace Road. It was about this time that the severe warning was quickly lifted.

I was undeterred by this, as the shelf cloud was still visually impressive and photogenic. Still northbound on Alburnett Road in this image from 3:28 pm, about one mile south of County Home Road (E34). The most intense part of the storm was about ten miles distant. Dangerous positive CG lightning from this area had a curious "fading" or "dissolving" effect for about a second after the main flash.

Radar capture from 3:25 pm, showing my position in relation to the storm (target icon), with white arrows showing the storm's track.

3:29 pm. Continuing north on Alburnett Road, about .7-mile south of County Home Road.

3:31 pm. Stationary at my spotting position on North Alburnett Road, about .8-mile north of County Home Road and north of Marion. Image is a panorama of the approaching gust front, looking west.

3:39 pm. Looking southwest as the leading edge of storm advances (right-to-left in image).

3:42 pm. Looking south. Despite the fact that the severe warning had been lifted about 15 minutes  previous, wind speeds from the gust front would reach near-severe levels again around 3:45 pm. Heavy rain and lightning also accompanied the storm at this location. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Night Bright

A recent vacation to northeast Minnesota was a perfect opportunity for night sky photography in its dark skies environment. In the above image was captured at 9:27 pm CDT on Saturday, August 31, 2019 from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Camera looks SSW over Lake Superior. Crouching at center on a shoreline rock outcropping with a headlamp is Sue Alliss. The Milky Way core is clearly visible. The bright object just left of the Milky Way is the 0.32 magnitude planet Saturn. The bright object right of the Milky Way is the -2.21 magnitude planet Jupiter. The distant light on the horizon at right is probably from the small town of Lutsen, about 17 miles distant. Clouds can be seen at top of the image. Image is a 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 6400, 11mm focal length.

10:15 pm, August 31, 2019. Milky Way in the southwest sky over Saint Francis Xavier Church near Grand Marais, Minnesota. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 6400, 11mm focal length.

10:30 pm, August 31, 2019. Looking NNE from Saint Francis Xavier Church. The opposite end of the Milky Way's arch is seen as well as an auroral glow just above the tree line, a result of G2 class solar activity. The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is clearly visible at upper right. 10 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 6400, 11mm focal length.

3:54 am CDT, Wednesday, September 4, 2019. Looking northwest from our room balcony at Skyport Lodge near Grand Marais, Minnesota. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 12800, 11.5mm focal length.

10:39 pm CDT, September 4. Milky Way in SSW sky as seen from our cabin at Tettegouche State Park in Minnesota. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 4000, 11mm focal length.

10:46 pm, September 4. Looking southwest at Milky Way. Bright star at center is 0.75 star Altair in the constellation Aquila. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 5000, 11mm focal length.

10:57 pm, September 4. Auroral glow in northern sky as seen from near our cabin. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 8000, 11mm focal length.

11:23 pm, September 4. Looking northeast from our cabin at auroral glow on horizon, a result of G2 class solar activity. The brightest star at lower left is the 0.06 magnitude star Capella in the constellation Auriga. Thin clouds are also seen. 13 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 8000, 11mm focal length.

11:53 pm, September 4. Looking southwest at Milky Way as seen from our cabin. 15 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 5000, 11mm focal length.

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Perseids Plus One

The early morning hours of Tuesday, August 13, 2019 for the annual Perseids Meteor Shower peak at my location on Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was overcast, thus preventing any viewing. The following morning did provide a decent show despite a setting moon, and the occasional passing of high altitude cirrus clouds. Medium-to-bright meteor frequency became quite active starting around 3:00 am CDT, and the above image is a combination of 3:15 and 3:18 am time captures. Image looks east. Each capture is a 15 second exposure at f/2.8, ISO 160, and 11mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera with Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. After about 3:30 am the meteor frequency suddenly went silent and increasing cloudiness set in, virtually ending the show.

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Storm? What Storm?

To many in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area around 7:25 pm, Sunday, August 11, 2019 when sirens blared a warning, the thought was "Storm, what storm?" as conditions outdoors appeared sunny from the perspective of the indoors--especially toward the north. A small cell had formed nearby to the west around 7:00 pm and had approached almost undetected. Because of the surprise I didn't have much time to do much mobile-wise, so I chose to stay on my back deck to spot there. The above image looks southeast at 7:37 pm CDT at turbulent tornadic clouds from the storm. The cell was moving right-to-left in the image and was about five miles to my south.

Radarscope capture of the tornado-warned cell and my location at 7:38 pm.

Panorama of the departing storm cell structure looking southeast at 8:02 pm after tornado warning had been lifted.

Closeup of the updraft from the image above it also at 8:02 pm. As quickly as this cell formed, it fizzled out. A well-defined funnel cloud, nearly reaching the ground, was observed earlier south of Palo and southwest of Hiawatha. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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