Freezing rain. Black ice. Fog. January 4, 2009, has been a bit of a departure from the snowy, arctic blasts we”d been getting up till last week, when a warm intrusion brought rain and even thunderstorms through the area. Since then the temperatures, though cold, haven”t been bitterly cold, and today they”ve hovered right around freezing.
I brought my camera with me to church this morning with the thought that I”d grab a few moody fog photographs afterward. Here are a couple.
Half a mile from me, on the outskirts of town, lies a small lake surrounded by a tamarack bog and swamp. I thought the setting might offer some cool, misty shots, and it did.
On the way home, heading north on 100th Street, the overarching trees combined with the fog to provided a mysterious tunnel effect. I love how this looks!
Today’s slippery conditions have provided a perfect case in point for a recent discussion on Stormtrack about the effectiveness of National Weather Service wording for hazardous winter weather. So far, conditions haven’t been nearly as bad as I”ve seen them get. But then, this is Michigan; because we get icy highways as a matter of course, we’re prepared for the worst. Things get bad, we salt the heck out of the roads.
I can’t say how that has worked today, though, since I’ve pretty much hunkered down and stayed inside this afternoon. This is a good day for lying low and doing computer work. So here I am, blogging.
Of course, there are other diversions besides. Stormtrack has been keeping me entertained with two virtual chase scenarios running concurrently. This has afforded me the odd experience of waiting for convective initiation in York, Nebraska, and Wichita Falls, Texas, at the same time. I get around. Now if just one of these setups pops, I”ll be a happy camper.
