Not Much, But Something

On a day when a record was broken for the most days in a row without a tornado in Iowa--held since 1956--the line of thundershowers that moved through the area at least provided some photo opportunities. In a decidedly uneventful year of thunderstorms so far, these thundershowers moved through the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area around 4:30 PM, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. The top image shows rain shafts beneath storm clouds that have just passed east of Archer Drive in the Bowman Meadows housing development in Marion around 4:37 PM. The middle image is a radar screen capturecomparable to the time of the top image. Despite low-energy atmospheric conditions (humidity 52%, dew point 56 degrees) the cloud structure in the bottom image managed to form striations. Cloud tops here reached about 30,000-35,000 feet. This image looks east from the eastern border of Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids around 4:50 PM.

Read more...

Veiled Crescent Moon

A waxing crescent moon stood out in the night sky around 9:45 PM on Monday, May 13, 2013 due to a thin veil of clouds over it. The veil created a luminous aura around the setting moon. This view looks through trees at Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. About 50% of the night sky was covered by clouds. This image is a two-second exposure at f/5.6, 1600 ISO and 200mm focal length.

Read more...

Big Error Provided Some Good Shows

What's a camping trip with the tent fabric but no tent poles? A night out under the stars. The distance to the "Little Paint" campground in the Yellow River Forest area of Northeast Iowa from Cedar Rapids is about 85 miles. That is why when I discovered upon arriving with our family that I had forgotten the bag of tent poles we had the choice of turning around and going home or sleeping out under the stars. We finally decided the latter, even though it was in October. It turned out to be a good choice. The temperature never got below the 50s (a day later a cold front arrived) and we were treated to a nice Northern Lights display (top image). The image was taken around 10:00 PM, Friday, October 10, 1997 using a picnic table as a base. I overheard neighboring campers remarking they "hadn't seen Northern Lights like that in a long time," then saw what they were talking about. The reds in the Aurora display correspond to molecules of nitrogen while the greens are oxygen. Also seen during the night because of no tent ceiling obstruction were two simultaneous meteors streaking outward from the same source in the form of a "V."

Read more...

Eta Aquarids Weren't Quite Done Yet

The half-hour time block from 4:00-4:30 AM on Tuesday, May 7, 2013 was rather active for the remainder of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower. The peak viewing time for this shower was over the weekend but local clouds prevented that opportunity here. A single meteor streak capture can be seen at upper left. What appears to be a bright meteor at bottom, just right of the left-most large tree, was in fact unidentified. It was slow moving and probably an aircraft of some kind. The meteor travelled upward, away from its apparent radiant point (cluster of stars just above and left of the right tree) in the constellation Aquarius. This view looks east over our backyard from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Temperature was around 50 degrees F. The image, shot around 4:15 AM, is a 30-second exposure at f/3.5, 400 ISO and 18mm focal length.

Read more...

Backlit By Moon

The moon, one day before full, provides a back light and creates a silhouette of my roof-mounted weather station around 8:48 PM, Wednesday, April 24, 2013. This image is a combination shot of the moon and the foreground. The moon was shot at 1/2000 second, f/5.6 and 2000 ISO. The foreground is a 1/6 second exposure at f/5.6 and 320 ISO. Both images had a focal length of 200mm. This image looks east from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Read more...

Dry Run Creek Runneth Over

Following rainfall of around 4 inches in just over 24 hours on Thursday, April 18, 2013, many area rivers and tributaries overflowed their banks, including Dry Run Creek at Boyson Park in Marion, Iowa, near its border with Cedar Rapids. The top two images, taken around 4:25 PM on April 18, show fast moving water as seen from on and beside a foot bridge at the park. The bottom image, shot about ten minutes later, shows the trail head located about 50 yards from the parking lot off Boyson Road. Barricades were quickly erected to close the trails as water levels rose over publicly used areas.

Read more...

Hiking Hiatus

Hiking along the Boyson Park Trail (top image) in Marion, Iowa was certainly out of the question late Thursday afternoon on April 18, 2013. Flood waters from the ironically named Dry Run Creek overflowed its banks and inundated a large area around it, including the park's trails. The middle image shows a nearly isolated foot bridge as high water rushes past it. The bottom image shows the extent of the water's reach as seen from alongside Boyson Road. Heavy and continuous rain contributed to flooding of the area's rivers and creeks, forcing water levels at this location second highest only to the June 12, 2008 event. Our house, about a quarter-mile away, received about 3.75 inches of rain in a little over 24 hours.

Read more...