Archive for the ‘Weather’ Category
March 22, 2011 – First Thunderstorm Downpour of the Season
Last night the sirens went off for the first time of the season and some property was lost as a tornado packing 120 mph winds danced across a county south of Des Moines. For our part, all that landed on our farm was heavy rain and pea-sized hail.
This rain arranged a winter’s accumulation of dead pine needles and other debris into nice pine needle dunes as the water lapped off the driveway. It also took all the frost out of the ground and the earthworms did appear!
one year ago…”Paul Simon and Ali Farokhmanesh – Separated at Birth?”
February 13, 2011 – I’m Melting!
The cold snap has finally broken and we can once again wander outdoors without risking frostbite. Now, a couple of photos to show how fast the snow can go.
Here’s a view out our bedroom window Saturday morning.
And Sunday night. Pretty much only the drifts remain.
one year ago…”In the Bleak Midwinter”
February 1, 2011 – The Storm Brews
It’s cold!
Here’s some of the ice from the storm window looking out of the office.
We’ll see what tonight and tomorrow brings, but for now, the driveway is passable.
January 19, 2011 – Power of the Sun
This photo is a testament to the power of the sun. When I went out to do chores this morning, it was rather chilly at -3.
Even though it was subzero, the snow on top of the metal corn crib was melting and dripping down the side!
one year ago…”Home-made Solar Air Heater Quest Begins”
January 11, 2011 – Snow at Last
Finally, the snow did arrive, much tardy this season, on January 11.
Hey, hey hey looking out my front window (apologies to CCR).
December 28, 2010 – Frosty Mornings
The recent days of fog have left a mantle of frosty coating on everything outside.
It really lends a holiday visual aesthetic to the farmyard (Currier and Ives must have lived for days like these!).
The turbine keeps spinning.
And white pine sentinels stand in frosty decoration.
one year ago…”Stagecraft Snow”
December 15, 2010 – Picking up Claire
Today I ventured to St. Paul to pick up Claire. The section of road between Clear Lake and Owatonna was particularly slick.
There was the usual assemblage of cars in the ditch, an SUV driver’s door down on the pavement in the middle of the interstate, and most rare of sightings was a truck towing another vehicle with a solid towbar in the oncoming lane. The truck lost control on the ice and starting doing a dosi-doe around each other, still attached. They did a couple of spins around, the semi trucks behind them shuddering as they tried to stop. Fortunately, the truck and towed car ended up facing the wrong direction on the shoulder as the trucks passed on by. We arrived home safely, now Claire is safely tucked in back home after her first semester is complete.
one year ago…”No Windspire Today”
December 14, 2010 – You Know Winter’s Arrived When…
You know winter has arrived when you step outside into the 12 degree weather and say to yourself, ” Gee, it’s really nice out today!”
Those winter days in the teens that you can actually go outside without covering each molecule of your body are a relief after the brutally cold days that preceded. Won’t be long before we’re dashing outside without coats when the temperature rises above freezing.
one year ago…”Moving Around the Farm”
December 12, 2010 – Brrr!
We missed out on the snow of the recent Midwest blizzard, but reluctantly got the 50 mph wind and subzero temperatures on the backside of the storm.
Farmer friends in northern Iowa had their bedroom window blown out! Nice to have a sheet of particle board laying around for just such an occasion! one year ago…”Thanks to Mr. Squirrel”
October 29, 2010 – Growing Season Over
The wind stopped and the first hard frost of the growing season settled down upon us last night. It was 24 this morning when my head came off the pillow.
This is a photo that is only possible to take one day a year. After this frost, the flower turns brown!
We enjoyed the longest growing season ever recorded in Central Iowa – 212 frost-free days!
one year ago…”Thingamajig Thursday #182″
October 19, 2010 – Signs of the Times
Today is a photo that represents signs of the times (and I don’t mean political yard signs).
Winter is creeping up on us, although with one of the most beautiful Octobers ever, it’s hard to believe that November is almost here.
one year ago…”Final Sunday Paper Article”
August 31, 2010 – Virga!
We’ve had our share of rain this summer, so it was nice to see some rain that didn’t male it to the ground (virga).
The clouds were funky enough to warrant a blog photo.
one year ago…”Flower Arranging”
August 11, 2010 – Flooding Finally Hits Near Home
Last night was another repeat of most of the summer. The ground finally can’t take any more water. Ames may see unprecedented flooding, perhaps even worse than the legendary floods of 1993.
The view of University Avenue and the athletic complex. The basketball court at Hilton Coliseum is now eight feet under water! I-35 is closed, as is US 30 leading in to Ames.
Resident trying to get her stuff out of her home.
South Duff, the main north-south thoroughfare, right in front of the Target store in Ames.
For the first time since we installed the sump pump, water is coursing through the basement, but the pump is keeping up so far. This has officially been the wettest first nine months of a year ever recorded in Central Iowa.
one year ago…”Monsanto, Farmers and Seed Prices”
June 20, 2010 – Mammatus!
We had a spectacular show Friday night as the second round of storms for the day passed by to the east. A nice field of mammatus clouds developed.
I went out anticipating that the thunderheads to the east might have some interesting illumination from the setting sun to the west, but was very pleased to see these clouds and watch as the grew and developed.
The following bit of information is condensed from Wikipedia: Mammatus are most often associated with the anvil cloud that extends from a cumulonimbus (thunderheads). Mammatus are often indicative of a particularly strong storm or maybe even a tornadic storm. These tend to form more often during warm months and are most common over the midwest and eastern portions of the United States.
Mammatus may appear as smooth, ragged or lumpy lobes and may be opaque or semitransparent. Because mammatus occur as a grouping of lobes, the way they clump together can vary from an isolated cluster to a field of mamma that spread over hundreds of kilometers to being organized along a line, and may be composed of unequal or similarly-sized lobes. The individual mammatus lobe average diameters of 1–3 km and lengths on average of 0.5 km. A lobe can last an average of 10 minutes, but a whole cluster of mamma can range from 15 minutes to a few hours. They usually are composed of ice, but also can be a mixture of ice and liquid water.
As the sun sank lower, the clouds turned from yellow to red.
It was rather exhilarating to be outside walking under this strange meteorologic phenomenon under a wide open sky!
one year ago…”Emma’s First 5K”
