Embossed Sky

A very textured-looking north sky is shown looking over 74th Street NE from C Avenue in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 9:25 AM, Sunday, July 1, 2012. The cloud formation is known as altocumulus undulatus (mackerel sky). The patterns in the formation resemble the scales on a mackerel fish, thus, the name. Altocumulus is an indicator of moisture and instability at mid levels of altitude (8,000-20,000 feet). If the lower atmosphere is stable and no moist air moves in, the weather will most likely remain dry, which in fact occurred here. This patch of altocumulus moved off within 20 minutes or so of the photograph, leaving a brilliantly clear blue sky in its place.  

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Bloomin' Hot!

This small field of wildflowers that included Yellow and Narrow Leaf Coneflowers and Wild Bergamot seemed oblivious to the wilting 100-degree F heat near Echo Hill Presbyterian Church north of Marion, Iowa around 4:33 PM, Friday, July 6, 2012. The century mark was reached here for the first time this year. These types of prairie wildflowers actually survive extreme heat, drought and poor soil and thrive in full sun. This image looks north. The "official" high for the day as recorded at the Cedar Rapids airport was 99 degrees. The "official" reading of 100 degrees F for Cedar Rapids the following day was the first since July 13, 2005 and it tied a record for the day of July 7.

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Steamy Acres

This farm acreage simmers in 98-degree F heat around 5:26 PM, Thursday, July 5, 2012.  Image looks west and was located on the C Avenue Extension about .2-mile north of County Home Road and about 1.5 miles north of Robins, Iowa. Some areas of Iowa reached the century mark on this day. Cedar Rapids has already experienced at least 12 90-degree days in 2012.

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Dawn Duo

Last seen together in February and March, the planets Venus and Jupiter are in close proximity once again, rising in the east just before dawn. This view looks over a cornfield about .1-mile east of Echo Hill Presbyterian Church in Marion, Iowa. Venus, the lower and brightest object, shines at magnitude -4.46; Jupiter (above Venus), -2.05. Also visible is the 0.84-magnitude star Aldebaran in the constellation Taurus (below Venus); the Pleiades star cluster (above Jupiter); a portion of the stars of Perseus (above left of the Pleiades); the star Capella in Auriga (far left). This seven second exposure, shot around 4:38 AM, July 4, 2012, was imaged at f/7.1, 800 ISO and 18mm focal length. Sunrise was at 5:36 AM. The air temperature at this time was a balmy 75 degrees with 82% humidity. Strangely, no small "critters" or insects interfered with my photo session.

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Oh, The Irony Of It All...

Okay, I had been complaining about the "quiet" 2012 severe storm season for Cedar Rapids, Iowa for months. Several conditions had conspired to inhibit storm formation in the eastern part of the state. Storms either moved north or south as they progressed eastward or fizzled out. Things were looking different--and much more promising--on the evening of June 29, 2012. A large storm cell that had earlier overturned semi trucks on Interstate 80 near Newton was staying strong and moving right toward Cedar Rapids. This was a straight-line wind gust front, one typical of summer. The top two images above show the ominous shelf cloud at the leading edge of the gust front as seen from my spotting position at Noelridge Christian Church on C Avenue NE around 5:33 PM. Despite winds around 60 mph here and for many blocks around, I could see no significant damage anywhere. But upon my return home a little over a mile away, our house was the only one to have a good-sized limb fall on it--this one even smashing my roof-mounted weather station! The bottom images show the limb on the roof the next morning and me clearing the lighter stuff. I would have to hire a professional business to remove the rest. The limb was weaken by "dry rot."

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Gust Front Sequences

The gust front cometh! The top image shows a sequence of four photo panels with a rapidly materializing shelf cloud low on the horizon and closing fast as seen in the southwest sky at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on the evening of Friday, June 29, 2012. The shelf cloud was riding the leading edge of the gust front. In the background is part of the Colton Square Condominiums. Each panel is one minute apart from the other. Top left: 5:28 PM, top right: 5:29 PM, bottom left: 5:30 PM and bottom right: 5:31 PM. The bottom group of images shows Des Moines radar returns of the storm system from 3:30 PM-6:00 PM. Cedar Rapids is indicated with a white circle. Winds as high as 80 mph were produced in some areas from the gust front, with reports of semi trucks being blown over on Interstate 80 near Newton.

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Relentless Approach

The shelf cloud in the top two images was moving swiftly and relentlessly toward my camera's position at Noelridge Christian Church on C Avenue NE near Boyson Road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 5:33 PM, Friday, June 29, 2012. The ragged-looking shelf cloud was the leading edge of a very windy gust front that was spreading out in a bow shape. The radar "bow echo" can be seen in the bottom image as a thin dark red color, indicated by the arrow. Gust front winds in certain areas of Eastern Iowa reached speeds of from 50-80 mph. Also known as "arcus" clouds, shelf clouds are products of cool, sinking air from a storm cloud's downdraft that spread out across the land's surface on the leading edge of the gust front. This cool outflow cuts under the warm air being drawn into the storm's updraft, lifting the warm air and making it condense. A sharp, strong gust front will cause the lowest part of the leading edge of the shelf cloud to become ragged and lined with rising fractus (scud) clouds (see top image). Striations in the shelf cloud (as seen in the middle image) are caused by cool and warm air acting upon each other creating convergence (lifting). The top two images look southwest.

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