WEATHER SNAP SHOTS: November 2004 Archives

I thought this might be of interest to the snow-lovers among you. Snow in Alaska--and lots of it. These pictures arrived from my friend and colleague Tom MacPhail in Alaska. Tom is a meteorologist who has lived in Alaska for decades and knows the state and its weather like the back of his hand. He is a passionate snow-enthusiast and has sent me these Thanksgiving holiday photos from the cabin he and his wife Kathy have in the breathtaking wilderness area two and a half hours drive (about 120 miles) north of Anchorage (also north of Talkeetna). The cabin is almost literally in the shadow of Mt. McKinley, North America's tallest mountain, and the towering peaks of Alaska Range.

The Alaska Winter weather program we produced and aired last winter included a segment in which my producer Pam Grimes, videographer Kevin Myers and yours truly spent several days at Tom's request at his cabin in the midst of last January's bitter cold there. I returned there with Tom this past
September with the leaves changing and in all of their autumn splendor. What an experience that was! Tom tells we're looking at a recent 12-14" snowfall which fell on top of the 3-4 feet already on the ground. Though there have been periods of rain and mild air farther south near Anchorage, snowfall this year has been abundant, as you can see!

Tom, who headed up the military weather operation for years at Alaska's Elmendorf Air Force Base and also served as one of the state's most popular television meteorologists on KTVA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Anchorage, is currently a Councilor of the American Meteorological Society and works as a forecaster, tracking Alaska's always challenging weather as a member of the Aviation Unit of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Anchorage.

-Tom Skilling

Wednesday's wet snow produced beautiful scenes around the area. Included here are photos submitted to us by John J. Kleeman and taken in Chicago's northwest suburban area. The heavy, wet, wind-driven snow clung to trees and outdoor structures.

Wednesday's snow fell in the city with a 12:1 snow to water ratio--more than the usual 10:1 ratio. But, the snow was heavier west and north of the city--the "heart-attack" variety, so named because of the difficulty such snow presents to shovelers because of its weight--since rain changed to snow there earlier, allowing for more significant accumulations.

-- Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Meteorologist

Mary Anne Best was kind enough to share some pictures taken this morning in Remington, Ind., in the aftermath of last night's snowstorm. "I wanted to take more pics all day long as the sun shined on the snow and trees, making it more beautiful," she said. Thank you Mary Anne!
-- Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center Staff

See behind-the-scenes images from Tom Skilling's feature story, "Riding The Wind." Click here for the complete photo gallery.

Sunday night's aurora display over Fermilab's Wilson Hall in Batavia, Illinois, courtesy of Martin Murphy, Fermilab Accelerator's Division Crew Chief. Thanks Martin!

Marty Eisses, an NIU alum and former WGN-TV weather office intern and now a member of the weather observation team at Midway Airport, snapped these shots of Sunday night's aurora display from the catwalk at Midway's control tower. Marty, who, like so many in the area, had never witnessed a northern lights diplay before this and was impressed at the strength of the aurora, in even in the midst of city lights. Great shots Marty!
– Tom Skilling

The spectacular aurora borealis display observed across Chicago and the Midwest Sunday night may well have this area's best in at least 13 years. That's the conclusion of our astronomer Dan Joyce of Triton College's Cernan Earth and Space Center.

The images we share here with you were relayed to us by Lisa and Tony Comaegys, photographers and owners of Aradise Productions of Michigan City. When the Comegys heard the report of northern lights while watching Sunday's (November 7, 2004) Nine O' Clock News, they jumped into their car and headed south to Purdue University's North-Central campus at Westville, Indiana, where they took this amazing set of long exposure shots.

For more images, click here.

Auroras like this one occur when earth-directed energy released from our sun by huge solar flares interacts--usually about two days later after the flare itself--with earth's magnetic field. Geomagnetic storms are creat Last night's northern lights followed what astronomers call an "M-class flare" which occurred Saturday morning, pushed the Boulder "K" index--which projects the probability of an auroral display after solar flares and coronal mass ejections on the sun----was at its highest level for nine consecutive hours Sunday night/Monday morning between 9pm and 6am, Dan Joyce tells us. We were flooded with e-mails from viewers in every corner of our WGN-TVarea reporting the breathtaking display. Jim Kean of Timmins, well to the north in Canada's eastern Ontario province, called to say the the display was visible there Sunday night as well.

A second solar flare---this one an even more powerful X-Class eruption---occurred around 4pm Sunday afternoon, according to Joyce. This, he says, could indicate an elevated potential for more northern lights Tuesday night. It's somewhat possible northern lights may reappear Monday night as well--though Dan's sense is that Tuesday offers higher prospects.

- Tom Skilling