Cumulus Tower From Hiawatha

This isolated cumulus tower made for a beautiful sight on Wednesday morning, May 7, 2014 as seen at 8:24 AM CDT from near Progress Drive and Martha's Way in Hiawatha, Iowa. The cloud tops on this small cell rose to 35-40,000 feet. The cell was located about 10 miles away in southeast Linn County. The cloud was a precursor to severe weather in much of the state the following day.

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A Heavenly Sight In Marion

Sunset with clouds provided this "heavenly" sight in Marion, Iowa around 7:07 PM CDT, Friday, May 2, 2014. The location was the intersection of 13th Street and 8th Avenue in downtown Marion. Church steeple silhouettes seen in the background are: First United Methodist Church (left) and First Presbyterian Church.

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From Below And From Above

Large crisscrossing aircraft contrails were both evident from the ground and even from space on Saturday morning, May 3, 2014. The top image was captured from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa around 9:00 AM CDT. The bottom image is a screen capture from a satellite image around 9:30 AM clearly showing the contrails within the state.

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Ran Slick Parking Lot

The parking lot at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 4:35 PM CDT on Sunday, April 27, 2014 took on the appearance of a pool of water as its surface reflected low light during a severe thunderstorm. This view looks east. I had taken up position here as a spotter. Sirens were wailing at this moment from radar-detected circulation aloft.

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Mild Rotation From Severe Weather

Cedar Rapids was in a slight risk area (just north of a moderate risk range) at the start of the day on Sunday, April 27, 2014. A line of storms approached Cedar Rapids just after 4:00 PM, with tornado-warned areas to the southwest and moving northeast. Dew points were not overly favorable to severe weather, as they were in the low 50s. The top two images show a possible mild rotation in the clouds in the west sky as seen from Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, with the top image shot at 4:31 PM and the middle at 4:33 PM. Area sirens were sounding at this moment. The bottom image shows a comparable Quad Cities NWS radar image screen capture. Winds speeds never exceeded 35 mph at this location.

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Halo Before The Storm

With the threat of possible severe weather in this area some 24 hours away, this halo circled the setting sun as seen looking toward Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday evening, April 26, 2014. The top image was captured at 6:36 PM CDT, the bottom at 6:39 PM. Note the crown like effect from spiked cirrus clouds.

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Low Rider

The International Space Station (ISS) had a low path in the night sky as seen from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Friday, April 25, 2014, so its brightness was not that impressive. This minute-plus exposure at f/9, 200 ISO and 18mm focal length captured the track as it moved right-to-left in the SW sky, passing just under the -1.47 magnitude star Sirius at center. The partially hidden constellation Orion is visible at right. Photograph was taken around 9:16 PM CDT. Air temperature was 58 degrees F.

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