WEATHER SNAP SHOTS: March 2009 Archives

Rainbow in the wake of Tuesday evening's storm on Chicago's Northwest Side

Photo courtesy of Tom Nava, Chicago

Heres a picture sent to us by Tracey Surface of a double rainbow over Montrose Harbor in Chicago Tuesday evening.

Photo courtesy: Tracey Surface

At approximately 5:35PM Tuesday evening, a weather observer near Belvidere High
School reported a rotating wall cloud extending about 35 percent of the way down to
the ground. Shortly thereafter, sirens went off and a brief tornado touchdown was
sighted near the intersection of Irene Road and Interstate 90. The sighting has not been
officially confirmed and no reports of damage or injuries have been received.

This storm was part of an eastward-moving broken line of showers and thunderstorms
that extended from near Rockford/Belvidere southward through Elgin to Yorkville.There
were scattered reports of reports of strong winds and small hail along this line.

Here are some pictures of the storm that rolled through Yorkville at about 5:50 p.m.
Tuesday

Photos courtesy of Walt Stagner, Yorkville, Ill

Photo courtesy of: Stephanie Beasley, Yorkville, Ill

Sunday's spring snow photos
A cold, windy and rainy Saturday night transformed into a snowy Sunday across the Chicago metropolitan area. The heavy, wet snow was plastered across the area's greening spring landscape by strong north winds creating beautiful snow scenes. We thank all of our readers and viewers who took the time to send us their wonderful pictures documenting nature's handiwork.

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Snow covered Easter eggs in Homewood

Photo by Amy and Phil Dillman

Crocuses in a snow-covered Darien garden

Photo by Anna Dolder

A robin in a plum tree in Lake in the Hills
Photo by Chellie McCarthy

Another snowy robin

Photo by Kevin McDevitt

A "weather-stick" in Geneva

Photo by Bob and Barb Powell

Springy the snowman in Wheeling

Photo by the Stanonis family

A snowy Lincoln Park

Photo by Jessica Zernhel

Pancake ice off Wilmette

Photo by Julia and Jim Baillet

Jay Kleeman forwarded this beautiful shot of Tuesday’s sunrise in Chicago’s northern
suburbs! THANKS Jay—it’s spectacular!

Tom Skilling

Photo courtesy of Jay Kleeman

More frozen breakfast treats

These pictures of pancake ice taken Thursday from the north breakwater at Waukegan were sent to us by Tom Harris.

Photos by Tom Harris

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Frozen "breakfast treats" surround Navy Pier

Jeanne DeVore who works on Navy Pier sent us this interesting shot of ice circles which started to show up in the lake near Navy Pier last Monday. They appear to be broken bits of ice with snowy edges which prompted one of her co-worker to remark that they looked like frosted Cheerios. By Tuesday the entire area was filled with them and by Wednesday they were gone.

Photo by cmannlink

Weather reflections
Thanks to Florence Bayci for passing on this interesting shot of a placid reflection taken by her neice Michelle Knierim from Mokena.

Photo by Michelle Knierim

Fog shrouds the lakefront
Our thanks go out to Mary Brophy for passing along these photos of her biking along Chicago's fog-shrouded lakefront on Tuesday. Fog was blowing onshore off the icy-cold lake.

Photos by Carol Garsee

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Flooding from Sunday's storms

John Gardner passed along this picture of flooding near Ransom, Illinois in LaSalle County after Sunday's heavy rainfall.

Photo by John Gardner

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

More shots from Sunday's storms

Thanks to Michael Landelius (KC9TVS) a member of Skywarn and Kane/Du[Page County ARES for sending us these pictures taken Sunday afternoon near I-57 and Illinois Route 116 near Ashkum, Illinois. Michael passed on his report of a rotating wall cloud to the National Weather Service at Lockport and a tornado warning was issued. No tornado ever formed, but the storm did produce 60 m.p.h. winds and nickel-sized hail.

Photos by Michael Landelius

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Personal rainbow in Crown Point, Indiana
Rachel Ritter of Crown Point , Indiana passed along this photo of what she calls her "personal rainbow". It appeared after a fierce storm that prompted a tornado warning for the area moved through on Sunday afternoon.

Photo by Rachel Ritter

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Sunday's storm from the Joliet area
Thanks to Tim Tibbott for passing along these dramatic shots of Sunday afternoon's storm rolling through the Joliet area. These shot were taken near I-55 and Black Road.

Photos by Tim Tibbott

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

After the storm

Ed Clapp sent usa this picture of a double rainblow taken in Valparaiso, Indiana this afternoon after the strong thunderstorms passed through the area.

Photo by Ed Clapp

Storm clouds over Highland, Indiana
Thanks to James Hartman of Highland, Indiana for passing along these photos taken as his area was placed under a tornado warning this afternoon. James reported a large wall cloud rapidly moving to the east-northeast with small vortices moving in a counter-clockwise direction

Photos by James Hartman

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Paul Hadfield, whose photos always delight, sends us this amazing set of hoar frost
photos taken this morning: In his accompanying e-mail, Paul explains these shots:

With an air temp of around 11 this morning, I spotted something unusual and that was
the formation of patchy hoarfrost along the cracks and crevices of a wooden retaining
wall. The frost that formed on every other exposed surface was your typical fractal
variety. My guess is that as the temperature fell, warmer moist air from within the soil
behind the wall rose to escape and upon making contact with the cold outer edges,
generated the elongated hoarfrost crystals. It definitely made for an interesting effect
although i'm ready to say goodbye to the frost season as i'm sure all you snowy
northerners are too!

THANKS, as always, for sharing these with us Paul! They’re amazing!

Tom Skilling

Photos courtesy of Paul Hadfield, Central Illinois

Chris Lucarz says there's plenty of snow in Michigan's U.P. Check out this shot from Chris taken in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Photo courtesy of Chris Lucarz

Anson Mount has sent us this picture of a snow cell, observed Monday.
Thanks for the photo Anson!

Photo courtesy of Anson Mount

Tribune photographer extraordinaire John Smierciak shares this beautiful
shot at sunset taken not long ago at a wind turbine farm here in
Illinois. In his e-mail to us, John gives us some backround about a
concern about this wind farm:

Wind turbines turn slowly in a cold winter sunset. As wind farms
expand nationwide, wildlife biologists are concerned that bats - far
more than birds - are vulnerable to the spinning blades of wind turbines
like these near Ransom, Il. IDNR officials are worried about the Grand
Ridge wind farm at Ransom because of its proximity - about 20 miles - to
the Blackball Mine, a protected habitat of the endangered Indiana bat.

(John Smierciak/Chicago Tribune)

Thanks John!

Tom Skilling

Photo courtesy of John Smierciak, Chicago Tribune

Carolyn Szepanski shares this snowstorm photo with us taken by her friend Donna George
in Hueytown, Alabama. Alabama was among the states hit hard by the late season
snowstorm which roared up the East Coast over the weekend. Thanks to Carolyn and
Donna for the great shot!

Tom Skilling

Photo courtesy of Carolyn Szepanski and Donna George

Our friend Anson Mount shares this shot of the lake-effect snow clouds as viewed from
Waukegan Airport looking toward Lake Michigan this morning. Anson reports
experiencing stretches of vigorous snowfall interspersed with sunny spells on his drive
from Algonquin to Waukegon. THANKS Anson!

Tom Skilling

Photo courtesy of Anson Mount, Algonquin

My Tribune colleague and 40+ year National Weather Service veteran Richard Koeneman,
who lives in the mountains of western North Carolina outside Asheville, sends us these
beautiful shots of the Eastern U.S. weekend snowstorm's aftermath in his area. Richard
tells us: "It was quite a snowstorm. 12.4 inches came down from noon to 11 p.m.
Sunday, then another 0.7 inches in mountain snow showers into early Monday afternoon
for a storm total of 13.1 inches. It was the heaviest snow here since 18 inches in mid
January, 1998. "

THANKS for these beautiful photos, Richard—and for the update!!

Tom Skilling

Photos courtesy of Richard Koeneman, Western North Carolina mountains outside Asheville

Thanks to our WGN Weather Center colleauge Richard Koeneman who forwarded these pictures from his home just outside of Asheville, North Carolina (elevation of 3,650 feet). Richard tells us that this 12 inch plus snowfall is most likely the biggest snow there in a decade since the area was hit by an 18 inch snowfall in January, 1999.

Photos by Gary Melton

Steve Kahn WGN Weather Center

Atlanta snowstorm

Thanks to former Chicagoan Richard Finn now living in Atlanta for sending us this picture of Sunday's snowstorm there. It was thundering in Atlanta this morning when Richard awoke but instead of rain it was snowing.

Photo by Richard Finn