Lunar Eclipse Event: Seeing Red

An eclipsed supermoon rises beside the old water tower located at County Home Road (E34) and Highway 13 north of Marion, Iowa at 10:44 pm CDT, Sunday, May 15, 2022. Maximum lunar eclipse was still 27 minutes away. Air temperature was 59 degrees F. 2.5 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 160, 18mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse

The total lunar eclipse event that occurred over North America from Sunday, May 15 - Monday, May 16, 2022 was also called a Super Flower Blood Moon. Thankfully, skies were clear and temps moderate (upper 50s) in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa metro area. The penumbral phase of the eclipse began at 8:32 pm, and ended at 1:50 am CDT. The duration of totality was about 90 minutes, with maximum eclipse occurring at 11:11 pm CDT. The above image looks southeast over an old water tower as seen from County Home Road (E34) near the intersection of Highway 13, north of Marion, Iowa, and was captured about 21 minutes before maximum totality. 2.5 second exposure at f/4.5, ISO 160, 34mm focal length.

11:11 pm. At maximum totality. Captured from Alburnett Road in the Bowman Meadows housing development of Marion. The tiny objects above and left, and below and right of the moon are fifth and sixth magnitude stars in the constellation Libra. 1.6 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 400, 55mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Distant Storms Disappear

A distant line of thunderstorms can be seen low on the western horizon in this capture from Bowman Woods Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa at 8:04 pm CDT, Monday, May 9, 2022. Although the storms packed some punch in western and central Iowa, they completely broke apart before they reached this location. Air temperature at this moment was 84 degrees F, dew point 69 degrees. In the background is Bowman Woods Elementary School. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Radarscope capture, corresponding to the time of the image above it. The target icon was my location, with an arrow pointing to the storms in the picture.

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April 30 Line of Storms Blow Through

A line of non-severe storms blew through the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area on Saturday, April 30, 2022. This was a precursor to a larger, "main event" that occurred farther east into Illinois later in the day. Above, the line of storms approaches my spotting location at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids from the southwest at 2:55 pm CDT. 

2:56 pm. Looking northwest at the approaching gust front, forming a bit of a shelf cloud.

2:58 pm. Gust front almost overtaking me. High wind speeds never exceeded 30-35 mph at this location as the front blew through. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Radarscope image corresponding to 2:49 pm. The blue target icon indicates my position.

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Early Morning Planetary Parade

Four planets aligned themselves in the eastern sky (actually five, if you include the too-dim-to-capture Neptune) during the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 27, 2022. Above, clear skies at 5:05 am CDT allowed the viewing of the planetary parade. From bottom left to upper right: Jupiter (magnitude -2.10), Venus (-4.11), Mars (0.89), Saturn (0.86). Image was captured from the Bowman Meadows housing development in Marion, Iowa and was a 5 second exposure at f/4, ISO 400, 24mm focal length. The illuminated area at lower left is a power substation located on Alburnett Road just south of Boyson Road. Air temperature was a chilly 35 degrees F.

5:28 am. Looking east from 33rd Avenue at 12th Street SW in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Above the waning crescent moon is Jupiter (left), and Venus. The two planets were about 3 degrees apart and are moving toward their closest encounter on Friday. Image is a 1.3 second exposure at f/6.3, ISO 320, 55mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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First Iowa 2022 Severe Weather Event Was a Deadly One

Forecasts for Iowa and severe weather had been predicted some three days in advance of the deadly EF4 tornado that would eventually take the lives of six people in Winterset, a town in Madison County, and one near Chariton, in Lucas County on Saturday, March 5, 2022. Storm Prediction Center (SPC) categorical, tornado, wind and hail outlooks are shown above, posted at 10:29 pm CST that morning.

As hours progressed and storms began to fire up in southwest Iowa, other SPC postings appeared, such as Mesoscale Discussion (MD) 194 at 1:20 pm, Tornado Watch 27 at 2:05 pm, and MD Discussion 195 at 3:46 pm.

Also of interest to Eastern Iowa, was this ominous Thunderstorm Outlook posted at 2:17 pm.

 

As evening approached and darkness began to fall, advancing storm strengths were still holding up. I set up my spotting location at Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids. The above image looks northwest at a tornado-warned area some 35 miles distant at 7:08 pm CST. 1.6 second exposure at f/3.5, ISO 500, 18mm focal length.

Radarscope video frame capture comparable to the photo above it, showing tornado-warned polygons to my west and northwest, and my location icon colored in blue. 

7:09 pm. Looking northwest.

7:10 pm. Looking west.

7:12 pm. Looking southwest.

7:14 pm. Looking southwest. Lightning illuminated. I made no severe weather reports here as conditions remained below reporting criteria as the storms passed through. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

GoProHero4 video frame stills from around 7:30 pm, looking in the same direction and showing lightning flashes. 

Scary looking Radarscope radar image capture from about 4:30 pm on March 5, showing a very pronounced hook echo signature (circled) where the tornado resided. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those who lost their lives there!

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Dazzling Sunset Two-fer

The consecutive evenings of March 2 and March 3, 2022 treated the viewer with dazzling sunsets. Above,  a vibrant Ash Wednesday western sky is seen at 6:14 pm CST on March 2 from Noelridge Christian Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Air temperature was 46 degrees F. Official sunset on this day occurred at 5:58 pm.

6:01 pm CST, March 3. Another evening of brilliant skies. This time I had another treat as I heard the honking approach of a formation of Canada geese, and waited for them to flew into the fiery sky for a capture (top of image).

6:04 pm. In the car and westbound here on Brentwood Drive NE. Alto-cumulus clouds have provided a wonderful reflective quality for the sunset spectacle, shown here around the height of its brilliance. Air temperature was 30 degrees F.

6:10 pm. Looking west from the intersection of C Avenue and Collins Road NE. The sunset has now faded considerably, but bright colors still persist along the horizon. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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