Gemini Dream

The (97% full waxing) moon and the nearby and prominent -2.17 magnitude planet Jupiter were inside the constellation Gemini high in the eastern sky during the night of Friday, January 30, 2026. The pairing of the moon and Jupiter was striking. Also in this image captured near Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 8:08 pm CST are stars from Gemini. Left of the moon is the 1.90 magnitude star Castor, at lower left 1.15 magnitude Pollux, upper right of the moon 3.05 magnitude Mebsuta, right upper is 1.90 magnitude Alhena and at far right is 3.35 magnitude Alzirr. The moon was captured separately as a 1/250 second exposure at f/5, ISO 400, 36mm focal length; and Jupiter and the stars a one second exposure at f/5, ISO 400, 36mm focal length. Both images were composited into one. Air temperature was 8 degrees F. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Snow Squall Blow Hard

The National Weather Service (NWS), in this case via an AccuWeather email notification (above), posted a Blizzard Warning at 11:24 am until midnight CST, January 21-22, 2026 for five Eastern Iowa counties. Light but steady snow then began to fall around 2:00 pm over the Cedar Rapids metro area, but with little or no wind. But by about 4:50 pm the snowfall had stopped, and small parts of the sky were actually clear.

I began to think the NWS had "dropped the ball," not fully paying attention to a small but intense winter storm cell that had formed in Wright and Hamilton counties in north-central Iowa and was steadily tracking southeast toward Cedar Rapids (IEM archived radar map images above).

At around 5:15 pm I finally became aware of the storm cell's imminent approach and decided to head to one of my favorite spotting locations, the grounds at Noelridge Christian Church on C Avenue NE, north of Boyson Road to get some possible good snow and wind captures. This somewhat tranquil image, captured at 5:28 pm, looks northeast from the parking lot. It is a 1/2000 second exposure at f/4, ISO 2000, 24mm focal length.

5:29 pm. The tranquility ended less than a minute later as the above image attests. The winter storm cell, now a full-blown snow squall, had arrived with ferocity, packing over 50 mph winds, and creating total white-out conditions. Dark pieces of small flying debris can be seen in the foreground. 1/160 second exposure at f/4, ISO 1250, 24mm focal length.

5:29 pm. Similar shot, seconds later. Same camera settings. I was firing off shots at will as the winds blasted over me! The temperature at this time was not bad--31 degrees F.

5:30 pm. Similar shot with my spotting vehicle seen at lower left. The worst of the squall was now quickly ebbing, as fast as it had began. 

5:32 pm Radarscope image of the storm cell (yellow) as it was passing through the Cedar Rapids area.

5:35 pm. The fury of the storm had now lessened at this location, but you could still see wind-driven channels of snow flowing through the parking lot. 1/40 second exposure at f/4, ISO 1250, 24mm focal length. Nikon Z6ii camera. (As the storm pushed southeast into far eastern Iowa and western Illinois, it actually intensified enough to set off my weather radio!)

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Hot Dog! ...er, Cold Dog!

 

Frigid conditions on the morning of Monday, January 19, 2026 in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area were certainly favorable for the formation of a sundog (and sun halo): minus 2 degrees F with wind chills in the negative 20s. The following two images were captured looking southeast from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids. The above image was captured at 8:16 am CST and is a 1/400 second exposure at f/13, ISO 100 and 24mm focal length. Below, the camera looks the same direction from a slightly different position at 8:41 am, with same exposure settings. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Severe Weather Teaser In January

 

What do you envision on January 8 in Eastern Iowa? Snow drifts, ice and biting cold. Most of the time, yes. But on the evening of January 8, 2026 the answer was no. Something considerably different. A large area of rain had trained northeastward up from a very warm and moist southern region around midday, dropping just under an inch in Cedar Rapids. Storm chasers had taken note of this highly unusual condition ahead of time from the Storm Prediction Center's (categorical, tornado, wind and hail) convective outlook posted at 6:35 am CST, shown above--so no big surprise there. 

The surprise was that just after 7:15 pm small clusters of storms continuing on from Oklahoma and Missouri had moved into favorable conditions in Eastern Iowa, producing a severe weather warned polygon (shown in the 7:22 pm Radarscope image above) that stretched from near Victor, Iowa to Cedar Rapids, setting off weather radios. The National Weather Service (NWS) even warned, "remain alert for a possible tornado!"

7:31 pm CST. All of the heavier activity stayed west and north of my spotting location on the eastern border of Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids. This image looks northeast as this particular stormy area (with lightning) had passed and was moving away.

7:37 pm. Looking west from the park at turbulent, fast moving clouds in the direction of the core of the severe-warned storm. Clouds were moving left-to-right in this image. Wind speeds at this location around this time peaked at around 40 mph, well below the 58 mph severe criteria.

7:39 pm. Looking east. Some of the fast moving clouds were not thick, often with open gaps, allowing some of the night sky to peek through. Above, the two stars Castor and Pollux in the constellation Gemini and the planet Jupiter can be seen at center. Amazingly, at 8:20 pm, the temperature here topped out at 58.5 degrees F, with 54.9 degree dew point--that's springlike conditions in January! Nikon Z6ii camera.

A January 9 IES LSR storm report map, showing the scope of this rare system. The state of Oklahoma confirmed four tornado touchdowns, and Mississippi confirmed two. Only twice in Iowa history have tornadoes occurred in the month of January.

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The Moon & Jupiter

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The moon and the planet Jupiter were in closer conjunction during the night of Saturday, January 3, 2026, but sky conditions were cloudy in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area all night, so no go there. The next evening proved clear, but with the moon and Jupiter farther apart. It still made a nice capture though, and the image shown here was captured at 8:39 pm CST, January 4. It looks southeast from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids and is a 0.8 second exposure at f/5, ISO 400, 36mm focal length. Jupiter is the bright object near the top of the image (magnitude -2.21). Also seen are the bright stars left of Jupiter: 1.90 magnitude Castor (upper) and 1.15 magnitude Pollux (lower), both in the constellation Gemini. At right near the tree is the 0.40 magnitude star Procyon in the constellation Canis Minor. Air temperature was 32 degrees F. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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