12/09/09 Blizzard of 2009

An icy and snowy scene in most-areas after the blizzard of 09'

The Blizzard of 2009: This storm will definitely be remembered...maybe not so much in the local-area, but for much of Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and northwestern Illinois. People will remember this storm for many years to come. A dynamic mid-latitude cyclone took shape across the Midwest (December 8-9th, 2009) with the low-pressure center deepening near a whopping 980mb as it moved through the Midwest. Trust me you don't see that strong of a storm system most years! The models verified this storm nearly a week in advance which we all know is saying something! This system buried much of the Midwest in deep snow pack with some areas receiving over a foot of snow. Add a very tight pressure gradient in the mix and winds were insane as well gusting to 50mph in some places and being sustained 20-30mph. My personal outdoor Davis weather station found here recorded the barometric pressure as low as 29.03in and the storm system ushered in the coldest air of the season thus far...dropping temps below zero for a time with wind chills well below zero. If you're wondering 29.03in comes to roughly around 983mb as the low pressure moved nearly overhead here in Kewanee, IL. Since this system tracked in close proximity to my hometown we received just about every precip-type during the storm thanks to warm air surging north into the surface cyclone. We started with 2" of snow by midday, switched to sleet through mid-afternoon, to rain during the evening, to freezing rain, back to sleet, and back to snow overnight. Crazy couple days of weather may be an understatement in this case! Snow totals easily reached a foot in much of Iowa and Wisconsin in the deformation zone axis meanwhile locally we ended up meeting the low-end of my 4-8" forecast with 4" storm total. A detailed summary from the NWS (MKX) of the event can be found here. Due to this event being a monster storm...I went a little crazy taking nearly 1,000 photos. Hey, why not?..we received a bunch of precip-types here locally which created some spectacular shots. I've added many of my favorites below:

A snowy welcome eh?

The peak of the storm...

Wide-angle shot of the large snow drifts a foot deep in some areas

After the storm shot (telephoto-zoom lens)

Beautiful winter shot of the snow drifted pasture

A holiday feel thanks to the fresh-fallen snow

Accumulated snow on a walkway railing

Half a foot snow drift...could have been a much worse scene locally

My car door magnets first test in the elements...

The pond nearly completely frozen

Snow covered fountain...serves as a outdoor
"Christmas tree" during the holiday season

The pool now officially a skating rink

Blizzard criteria...I think so here eh?

Day after the storm shot

Fake icicles, illuminating the snow

Snow-packed and "crusty" farm fields

Reminds me of this line from Twister:
"Looks like you've seen some action"

Low-light situations can give you interesting
effects if you use it to your advantage

Snow-blasted...

Should say: "Welcome to the Winter Wonderland!"

The Kewanee water tower (background) with the snowy landscape in the foreground (telephoto-zoom lens)

Old Man Winter can create some dramatic effects

Winter Wonderland?

Davis outdoor weather station

Icicle lights can provide some really good photo-ops

Action-shot here...white-out conditions
progressively becoming worse...

Frozen pond...and what do you know...graupel

Rudolph, nearly unrecognizable thanks to the snow

Wet snow stuck to just about everything even
withstanding strong winds which is quite amazing

Fluffy wet snow I'd say...a testament to a low snow-ratio (10:1)

Ice and snow on this Christmas light (macro-lens)

More macro-lens work...

A different snow angel than what we have all come to know

More Christmas lights...

Large icicle thanks to some freezing rain during the storm

Blue LED Christmas lights giving this snow drift a blue appearance

This was a epic storm especially west of the Mississippi River. One big storm down...a couple more to go this winter season...

12/07/09 Winter 2009: First Snowfall

Snow plow in action after receiving
the first official snowfall of the winter

A quick disturbance produced the first official snowfall (inch or greater of snow) during the overnight hours in the local-area (Kewanee, IL). This made roads quite slippery and caused many accidents in the local-area during the morning-rush. I decided to venture out the door and get some photos of the event. However, I didn't know just how interesting the morning would later become...I took a few photos of some Christmas decorations that were coated in the fresh snowfall including our driveway. This is where we strung Christmas lights and decorations and made for a good photo-op. At this time, I didn't know this would be important for "before-and-after shots" 10 minutes later. Indeed this was the case however...as I was wandering around the yard for a few more photos of the snowfall on this morning I heard an insane boom...my eyes wandered to the roadway where a SUV rolls right across the driveway. At first, I couldn't believe what I was seeing since well it's not something you're used to seeing everyday. This was a nasty accident! Anyhow, I ran inside and got the proper personal to the area. No injuries surprisingly...but trust me in live action I thought this was a whole hell of a lot more serious. Turns out a driver behind the accident said these drivers were going way too fast on the snow-covered road. They lost control and as they hit some landscape concrete curving and the gate to our driveway in turn rolling the vehicle twice and landing upright in the front yard. Tickets were issued with no valid drivers license, no insurance, and speed. Afterwards, I pondered how different things could have been if I was taking those photos during the time of the accident where I was 10 min prior. Made for a decent story however...

Christmas holiday lights snow-coated

I do recall mentioning in a post a couple weeks ago how
interesting it would be to see farmers still in the field
picking corn during a snow event...

Holiday decorations providing a nice photo-op with the fresh snowfall

Ya...I have my own lawn sign

Nature shot (macro-lens)

One of many Evergreen trees on the property

I know what you're thinking, but they are "shatter-proof"

Our goat's pasture snow-covered

Snow on some of these energy-friendly LED Christmas lights (macro-lens)

Here are all those Evergreens I mentioned...

Rudolph, as if someone had a little too much fun in the snow...

The snow "blanket" in the front yard

Here are some photos I took of the accident below that I witnessed during the morning:

Here's the before shot...10 min before to be exact

After shot...

The scene...

Stark County Sheriff on the scene

Totaled vehicle being towed and put on a flat-bed

A few photos of our first official snowfall ended up being a little more entertaining than I was thinking when I wandered out the door on this morning I'd say...

12/05/09 Our Christmas Holiday Light Show

Tis' the season...Happy Holidays 2009

Well, since the holidays are soon upon us...I figured I'd put a Christmas post together. Here are some photos I took around the house and of my holiday light display that I put together on the house this year. This was my first time doing such a task and well I think it turned out quite well with careful planning. I actually synced the light strands to a device that you can purchase that comes with traditional Christmas songs. You basically plug in the light-strands and the device does all the rest for you. All you have to do is carefully plan what light strands you want illuminated at certain times and on what musical notes. Pretty cool what you can do with technology these days! Here are some photos of my 2009 Christmas holiday light show below:

This is a fountain in the spring and summer, but it resembles a
Christmas tree thus led the idea of turning it into a outdoor wannabe
Christmas tree in the front lawn

Traditional multi-color strand of lights

Icicle lights strung along this outdoor railing

Christmas "presents" all lit up

Run, run, Rudolph...

The Christmas tree with blue rope lights
wrapped around outdoor pillars (background)

Lights strung all along this fence enclosure

Snowflakes yet again giving the appearance
as if snow was falling overhead

Polar bear Christmas light display

Wide-angle shot of the strung lights wrapped in garland

Outdoor blue Christmas tree (rope-lighting)

Presents as Christmas light displays?...yep they do exist...

Wide-angle view (front of the house)

Big fan of icicle lights...

Mom's Christmas tree that went up this year...

I added a short YouTube clip of the holiday display in-action (above)

If I find some time over the next few weeks I may add another post with some local displays in Kewanee, IL and the Festival of Lights holiday light show in East Peoria, IL. Stay tuned...

12/03/09 Autumn Sunsets & The Moon: Part II

Spectacular fall sunset in the western horizon

Here are a few more photos I took about a week ago in the local-area. High-level cirrus along the western horizon provided a great photo opportunity on this evening. I also added a few more moon pics over the last few weeks as the moon transitioned to the full moon last night. A few photos are below:

The moon at twilight...

Streaking cirrus at sunset

Pretty darn close to a "full moon"

The sun nearly parallel to the horizon

Sun now below the horizon giving the landscape a "glowing effect"

More cirrus with a wide-assortment of colors

The moon yet again (Canon 70-300mm telephoto lens)

I'll be adding a Christmas holiday post over the next couple weeks as well and on another note the next two weeks look fairly active with several opportunities for measurable snow and even a significant event (winter storm). Stay tuned...