Not Quite White-Knuckle Driving, but Close...

 

The return home from a family Christmas gathering in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, December 14, 2024 was not a recommended one for most drivers--temperatures hovering around 33-32 degree F with freezing rain falling, at times heavy. The above image from 2:34 pm, shows an icicle-draped speed limit sign while eastbound on US Highway 30, in eastern Benton County.

2:35 pm. A closeup of iced highway signs in Benton County.

2:41 pm. Entering Linn County along US Highway 30.

2:45 pm Radarscope capture, showing heavier precipitation behind us. We were fortunate to stay ahead of it.

2:47 pm. Electronic sign warning of snowplows in use on the highway.

2:49 pm. ADM plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa shrouded in freezing rain and its own emissions as seen from US Highway 30. We would make it home safely, but not without our share of stress! Nikon Z6ii camera.

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The Year in Review: The Best of 2024

 

The year 2024 offered me some significant photo opportunities, and the following list, in my opinion, stood out for review. The year's events started with the above picture of a sundog seen from Marion, Iowa on Sunday, January 14. Air temperature was -16 F.

Not wanting to drive solo farther south and east to witness the second total solar eclipse in 7 years, I instead chose a location for a partial eclipse near Mount Union, Iowa on Monday, April 8. The above image is a sequential composite of the eclipse at that location.

This rapidly rotating EF3 tornado northwest of Harlan, Iowa on Friday, April 26 was one of 8 tornadoes we personally witnessed that day out of the total of 25 that spun up in the states of Nebraska and Iowa.

A G4-rated geomagnetic storm produced aurora like that seen in this image northeast of Marion, Iowa on the evening of Friday, May 10.

An intense severe-warned storm approached this truck stop location near Toddville, Iowa from the southwest during the evening of Tuesday, May 21.

A shelf cloud with a QLCS tornado at its leading edge blew through Linn County north of Marion, Iowa during the afternoon of Monday, May 27.

The core of the Milky Way glowed spectacularly from Cottonwood Camp in the Grand Canyon, Arizona during the early hours of Monday, June 17. The image was captured during our group's four-day backpacking hike from the North to the South Rim.

A gust front shelf cloud kicked up dirt and debris as it blew through this truck stop near Ainsworth, Iowa during the evening of Tuesday, July 2.

The blue lights of the High Trestle Bridge over the Des Moines River in Boone County contrasted well with a colorful sunset during the evening hours of Friday, August 16.

The rare combination of a partial lunar eclipse with a Supermoon was striking as it shone over the reflective Cedar River in downtown Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, September 17.

A powerful G4-G5 geomagnetic solar storm produced vivid red and green aurora such as those seen in this view from northeast of Marion, Iowa on Thursday evening, October 10.

One of the brightest comets in several years (Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas 3) made its appearance in October, with this view of the icy celestial visitor in the western sky near Marion, Iowa during the evening of Sunday, October 13. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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