I'm Dreaming of a (WHAT?) Christmas

Probably the best Christmas ever (weatherwise) for me! On this day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa the temperature topped out at 59 degrees F, an all-time record by one degree. Records indicated it was even warmer than the previous Mother's Day! Above, the sun shines over a rural Shueyville, Iowa pond at 12:30 pm on Wednesday, December 25, 2019. Despite the warmth, the pond still had some five-inch-thick ice covering it.

Similar capture at the same time. iPhone 6-Plus camera.

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Moon and Planets on Frosty Night

A full moon is shown rising from behind Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 5:21 pm CST, Wednesday, December 11, 2019. This image is a 1/40 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400 and 55mm focal length. The moon was rated 99.9% full at this moment.

In the southwest sky, two minutes later, the planets Venus and Saturn were positioned within two degrees of one another. The brighter Venus gleamed at magnitude -3.95 while the fainter Saturn shown at magnitude 0.57. This image is a 1/40 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 1250 and 55mm focal length. Air temperature was a frosty 15 degrees F. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Cold Front Creates a "Snow Squall Warning"

A sudden burst of falling snow officially became a "Snow Squall Warning" in Cedar Rapids, Iowa during the early afternoon of Monday, December 9, 2019. A Radarscope capture from 12:39 pm CST, complete with a blue polygon is shown above, indicating a very thin but intense line of precipitation moving east.

Meanwhile, on the ground, this was the view looking west toward Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids during the snow squall. The above image was captured at 12:35 pm.

This image, and the one below it were 12:37 pm captures. Air temperature was at 28 degrees F, falling from 41 degrees just a few hours before. Air temperature would continue to fall to 16 degrees by day's end. Snow squalls are sometimes accompanied by gusty winds and whiteout conditions, and are in essence a winter version of a severe thunderstorm warning from warmer months. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Venus/Jupiter Conjunction...With a Little Help From Saturn

After sunset on Sunday, November 24, 2019, the planets Venus and Jupiter set in the western sky within about one degree of each another and provided a beautiful display for sky viewers. Venus shown at -3.93 magnitude and Jupiter at -1.84. This image (above), captured at 5:36 pm CST,  is a 1.3 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 200 and 55mm focal length. The camera looks west from Alburnett Road and Flight Drive in Marion, Iowa. Air temperature was 39 degrees F.

Also in the same general vicinity of the Venus/Jupiter conjunction was the 0.58 magnitude planet Saturn (upper left). Image is a 1.6 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 200 and 25mm focal length. In the foreground is the Bowman Meadows housing development. Official sunset on this day was 4:39 pm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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One Tornado Or Two?

Circumstances from the tornado intercept in Johnson County Iowa on Saturday, May 24, 2019 left me a little bit in the dark for a while as to whether we had witnessed one tornado or two during the event. In the image above, there is no doubt, as a violent twister is shown on the ground to our northwest from this spotting position on 540th Street SW about 3.4 miles WSW of Hills, Iowa at 6:48 pm CDT.

6:55 pm. Still in the same spotting position and looking NNE. The condensation funnel appears to have lifted, but ground circulation is still evident.

7:03 pm and mobile now on Bayertown Road SW, about 3.9 miles west of Hills. Same parent cloud, but now with just a ragged lowering where the tornado had been.

A minute later and now the cloud sports the ragged wall cloud AND a funnel, which briefly touched down as I caught a glimpse of its ground debris while we were mobile. The fact that I had not previously reviewed pic number three--which shows no funnel less than a minute before the image above--is a good indication that these were in fact two separate tornadoes (albeit cyclic, from the same parent cloud). The original confusion began as a consequence of the disengagement of our spotting position and relocation to the road. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Frozen Shadows

The flat portion of Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids near its eastern edge provides for an even covering of frost on many clear chilly mornings. As the sun rises (from upper right), the frost burns off. But cooler tree-shaded areas provide a last haven for the frost as seen in these two images captured on Saturday morning, October 26, 2019. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Halloween Cold Spot

5.8 inches of snow from a recent snowfall event and 27-degree F air temperatures at the time of this photo capture of the front of our house on Halloween night made for less than ideal conditions for the trick-or-treaters. The image above, captured at 7:21 pm CDT on Thursday, October 31, 2019,  is a half-second exposure at f/3.8, ISO 100 and 22mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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