Palm Sunday Moon Day

Palm Sunday on March 28, 2021 featured a full moon. These two images captured the moon at 6:39 am CDT as it was setting in the west sky as seen from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The top image is a 1/320 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 1000 and 300mm focal length, the bottom image a 1/320 second exposure at f/4.2, ISO 1000, 105mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Tornado Tease

A line of precipitation that at first seemed benign moved in a northerly direction in Eastern Iowa on the evening of Tuesday, March 23, 2021. To my surprise, my weather radio sounded at 7:15 pm. A radar indicated tornado warning had been issued for extreme southeast Iowa (left panel above). A half-hour later another tornado warning was issued for Washington County, just south of Iowa City and Johnson County (right panel). These warned areas were occurring along the leading edge of this system. Both warnings were cancelled in short order. White arrows show storm motion, red polygons the warned areas, and the black target icon my location.

In response to this situation, I positioned myself on our back deck in case new warnings might pop up closer to home. None did. A serpentine-like line of rain undulated north bringing our area some heavy rain and elevated wind. The image above looks south at the approaching line of rain. iPhone 11 camera.

Radarscope image roughly corresponding to the time of the photograph above it. Note the red colored line of heavy rain, and the blue target icon indicating my location.

Read more...

And It Begins...

A severe-warned storm cell is seen along the northwest horizon, looking over Bowman Woods Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 5:47 pm CST, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The most intense area of the storm was located about 64 miles distant, south of the town of Holland, in Grundy County Iowa. The storm cell was severe warned for about 20 minutes, starting at 5:35 pm. This was the first severe weather event in this area for 2021, and was an earlier-than-normal occurrence for the season. A current La Nina pattern in the Pacific Ocean--similar to that of 2011--has some severe weather models predicting higher-than-normal activities for the year. Could this be the start? Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Radarscope image closely corresponding to the photograph at top showing the severe-warned polygon. 

The severe weather event on March 10 was for the most part unexpected. At the start of day the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) posted chances of mild thunderstorms over Iowa, and less than 2% tornado probability. But by 1:52 pm a Slight Risk was posted for Central Iowa (above), with a 5% tornado probability.

Tornado Watch 16 posted for central and northeast Iowa at 2:40 pm CST.

My weather station monitor at 4:35 pm, showing very springlike conditions.

WeatherTap radar screen for 6:14 pm CST, showing copious amounts of lightning and the tornado watch areas. These storms quickly weakened and became linear, containing rain and some wind, and rolled through the Cedar Rapids area around 8:00 pm.

Read more...

Resilient Crocus

Just a couple of days before the capture of this trio of crocuses poking up above ground in our backyard the surface was covered with snow, and just a month earlier occurred a two-week stretch of double digit sub-zero temperatures. Time and date here was 3:58 pm CST, Monday, March 8, 2021. Photographed from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Air temperature was 63 degrees F. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Read more...

Stalactites of Ice

Hanging icicles appear as cave stalactites as they are shown here from a structure on 33rd Avenue SW at 12th Street in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 6:09 am CST on Monday, February 22, 2021. The melting of the roof water that created these icicles was a precursor of a warming trend that would bring the area out of a brutal cold spell that had been in place for the past two weeks. iPhone 11 camera.

Read more...