WEATHER SNAP SHOTS: November 2009 Archives

Jennifer Barwock of Posen, Ill., captured this image of a double rainbow Thursday afternoon (Nov. 19) in Oak Forest. Thanks Jennifer for sharing this great picture with us!



Photo courtesy of Jennifer Barwock, Posen, Ill.

John Hazzard has always done a wonderful job keeping the WGN Weather Center informed about soil and farming conditions for Illinois farmers. He tells us today that weather conditions are back to being favorable again for harvesting corn in our area now that the recent storm system has departed. Hazzard also sent us the photos below, which were taken 2 miles east of Wilmington, Ill., of Dave and John Meyer harvesting corn on a beautiful Friday afternoon. As John told us:

"The corn had to be dumped from the combine into an auger wagon, then taken to the semi truck sitting out on the road because of the wet field conditions. The corn moisture is between 20-30 wetter than the last five-year average due to the weather conditions over the past 6 months. Soybean harvest is 95 percent done, but the corn is very slow to come out -- only 30 percent of corn acreage has been harvested in this area. This time last year everyone was done with both crops; what a difference a year makes..."

Fortunately, the good news according to Hazzard is that the yields in both soybeans and corn are either average or above average. Thanks John for the timely update as well as the photos!





Photos courtesy of John Hazzard

Joan Knight sent us this a gorgeous sunset picture taken in Lombard this past Friday the Nov. 13th. Wow, what a great shot!

Thanks Joan!


Photo courtesy of Joan Knight, Lombard, Illinois

Check this out! David Leonard sends us these shots of a rain gauge produced by his 2nd grade son Kyle as part of his science curriculum. Kyle's teacher is Mrs. Durkin of Willow Creek School in Woodridge, Illinois and provided him the instructions on how to make the
instrument. Leonard writes:

" It was pretty cool to see how a seven year old went about the process of creating this rain gauge. The pop bottle cut off at the top and inverted to serve as a rain collector, water was filled to a certain level to compensate for the different shape at the bottom and the placement of the ruler at the water level. His measurement of the rain received last night was approx. 0.5 cm."

Very cool indeed--and congratulations Kyle on a job well done!

Tom Skilling





Photos courtesy of David Leonard, Woodridge, Illinois

Thanks to Daniel Giampaolo for sending this photo of Friday's sunset to us from Bensenville!  Beautiful shot, Daniel!
 
Tom Skilling
 

Darryl Angelico of Northbrook sends us this shot of a squirrel having fun with this pumpkin---perhaps doing a little carving while enjoy his/her version of pumpkin pie!

Terrific photo, Darryl!  THANKS for sharing it with us!
 
Tom Skilling

 
Photo courtesy of Darryl Angelico, Northbrook, IL
 

Judy Thorpe shares photos of the incredibly beautiful sunset which took place October 30 of this year. The colors of these mammatus clouds is nothing short of breathtaking. Judy tells us:

" The organization of the clouds reminded me of standing waves from college physics. What causes such a pattern in clouds to develop, and the intense color?"

It's an interesting observation, Judy--and a great question. Mammatus clouds are most often found on the underside of a thunderstorm anvil. They signal the presence of turbulent winds at and near cloud level. THANKS for sharing these with us!

Tom Skilling

Jay Kleeman sends us these beautiful photos of sunset Friday night as seen from Mount Prospect. Thank you Jay for sharing these pictures with us!





Photos courtesy of Jay Kleeman

John H. Kloch shares his beautiful photo of Thursday morning's sunrise taken on Cary Bluff just east of Lindsey, Wisconsin--which is south of Marshfield.  What a terrific shot!  THANKS John!

Tom Skilling


Photo courtesy of John H. Kloch, Cary Bluff, Wisconsin

 

Sheldon Faworski sent us this picture of Thursday evening's gorgeous sunset in Elizabeth, Illinois. Sheldon tells us he shot this at 4:50 p.m.

Thanks Sheldon!


Photo courtesy of Sheldon Faworski, Elizabeth, Illinois.

Check out these pictures!

Bridget Soraghan from Schererville sent us this great sundown picture. She says:

"as the sun was going down it turned pink outside, and I thought I would capture this amazing sunset!'

Amazing indeed! Thanks for the great shot!

Tim Anderson of Clifton, Illinois snapped this photo in his backyard on Sunday (10/9/2009) and e-mails asking, "What causes this weird arrangement?" Weird indeed.  What a fascinating shot. 

It appears the fuzzy clouds in the midst of the three openings in the altocumulus clouds which cover most of the sky mark areas in which air is ascending. Offsetting subsidence appears to be occurring around each of the fuzzy-looking altostratus clouds in the midst of each of the three openings in the clouds as evidenced by the clear patches around the periphery of each of these altostratus. Clouds evaporate in areas of sinking air; conversely, regions of rising air are areas in which the ascending air is cooling and clouds develop when the cooling takes the air to saturation.  Great shot, Tim!  THANKS for sharing it with us!
 
Tom Skilling

Dan Giampaolo of Bensenville sends us these shots of Sunday's clouds with what Dan describes as "tails".  These tails are actually "virga"---streamers descending from the base of the clouds produced as precipitation falls from them. This precipitation evaporates as it falls into the drier air below. Great photos, Dan---THANKS for sharing them with us!
 
Tom Skilling

 



Photos courtesy of Dan Giampaolo, Bensenville, Illinois
 

Rhonda HartlineI sent us this picture of early Monday morning's sunrise in Portage, Indiana. She tells us:

I saw a beautiful sunrise early this morning (about 6:20 am.) and couldn't help but take a photo.  I teach in Portage but live in Valparaiso and I took this from my driveway. I hope you enjoy it.

We certainly do enjoy it Rhonda! Thanks for the great shot!!

Rick Stegall sent us this picture of a flyby done during the Veterans Day parade in Utica, Illinois this past Sunday.

Thanks for the great shot Rick!
 

Jeffrey Bergandine sends us this photo of clouds in the shape of---as he describes it (and I like this)---flat turtle shells and tells us his 10 year old son William and he wonders what kind of clouds these are?  These are referred to as altocumulus stratiformis undulates according to the World Meteorological Organization's International Cloud Atlas.  Any time the prefix "alto" appears in a cloud designation, it means these are mid-level clouds---or clouds with bases between 6,000---but less than 18,000 feet above the terrain.  Great shot, William and Jeffrey!  THANKS for sharing it--and thanks for sharing the fact your enjoy our Chicago Tribune weather page!
 
Tom Skilling



 
Photo courtesy of Jeffrey and his son William Bergandine,
 
 
 

Bruce Vinkler and Julie Gidwitz send us these photos of an unsual cloud formation they observed while driving late Sunday morning on I-80/94 while driving through northwest Indiana. They tell us:
 
"We observed an interesting cloud formation. There was a high thin veil of clouds that the sun was able to shine through, with some intermittent virga (very small areas by comparison). One area of the thin cloud veil was "pierced" in an almost perfect circle with some other thin clouds within the circle.  At the center of the circle was an area of cloud that appeared to be some more virga.  This formation persisted for quite some time, and a few other areas of "circles" started to form, although not as large as the one shown. What caused this?"
 
It is clear we're looking at quite a swath of altocumulus (mid-level clouds) and it is also clear, as you've accurately described, that virga (a streamer of evaporating precipitation) is occurring from the cloud in the midst of the opening. What appears to be going on is there is localized area of lift (upward vertical motion)  in the vicinity of the precipitating cloud and that that cloud-clearing subsidence occurring on a localized basis as air sinks at the periphery of this region of "lift".

THANKS for sharing this with us Bruce and Julie!  VERY interesting indeed!
 
Tom Skilling
 



Photos courtesy of Bruce Vinkler and Julie Gidwitz
 
 

Carl Rollberg witnessed firsthand some of the effects of Hurricane Ida as it swept by Mexico's Cancun while awaiting a flight back to Chicago on Saturday. It turned out to be a turbulent flight. Carl writes:
 
"In the whole week that we were there, we didn't have one sunrise or sunset.  I got some pretty good pictures anyway.....The 2nd one is a photo from Gate 12- American Airlines while we waited fro our plane Saturday afternoon.  I guess they're the outer bands of Hurricane Ida.  When I got home I checked the storm track and it appears that I'm right.  We had a real bumpy ride home.  Two rows in front of my the panel that has personal light and ventilation became partially unattached.  The passenger under it just calmly pushed it back up."
 
Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Carl and glad you're home safely!
 
Tom Skilling
 




Photos courtesy of Carl Rollberg, Calumet Park, Illinois
 

It was an icy morning is fog-bound Scotland Monday. Our friend and intrepid Scottish weather reporter Mark Vogan sends us these shots from the Glasgow area--they are something!  Mark writes:
 
"We awoke to a low of 27 degrees with freezing fog that lay some 150-250 feet thick over the valley floor. Here at the house, heavy frost coated all outside objects along with low visibility with the fog, only to find crystal clear skies and brilliant sunshine as I drove up through and above the inversion layer. . We sit in between weather systems and today after 27 degrees, we only rose to 45 degrees here at my house and likely only the upper 30s in Glasgow, we being slightly higher in elevation saw more sunshine, where Glasgow was stuck in the shallow inversion of "trapped cold air."
 
Wonderful report and photos, Mark!  THANKS as always for keeping us posted on weather developments in the UK!  Please give your lovely wife Karen our best!!
 
Tom Skilling

Here is a picture of extremely high ice clouds taken over the North Atlantic at sunrise. Carl Behrent, who took the picture, estimates that he was flying at 35,000 feet, and that the ice clouds (the thin light blue structures) were seen at 55,000 to 60,000 feet. Thanks Carl for sharing this beautiful photo!



Photo courtesy of Carl Behrent

Thanks to Kelly Anbach of Bensenville for these spectacular fall color shots taken in Hinsdale. They're beautiful! THANKS for sharing them with us, Kelly!
 
Tom Skilling
 





Photos courtesy: Kelly Anbach of Bensenville, Illinois
 

This remarkable picture comes to us from John and Andrea Skillman of Gurnee.  It was taken while vacationing in Alaska on the east side of Resurrection Bay in Seward. The Skillman's first spotted this cloud while eating dinner and aptly describe it as a mushroom cloud. It's more technically referred to as an orographic cloud---one which is induced as terrain forces air to rise---a process which leads to cooling and condensation of airborne moisture produces clouds such as this.  They report it dissipated a short time later as the sun set.  John and Andrea add that Alaska is a great place for seeing weather----which is absolutely true!  THANKS SO MUCH to the Skillmans for such a fascinating photo!
 
Tom Skilling

Allison Phelps, public relations coordinator for The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, give us an update on the fall color display at the arboretum and sent us these great pictures. Allison tells us:

Just to let you know, fall isn't quite over here at The Morton Arboretum. There are still colors to see. Thanks to our expansive collection of exotic trees, visitors can stop in and see the red and yellow leaves of the Persian Ironwood tree or the Paper-Bark Maple with it's bright red leaves accented by the cinnamon-red exfoliating bark!

Thanks again Allison!

-Tom Skilling

A snowstorm blasted Colorado and sections of surrounding states last week. Don Kukla sends us this photo taken last Wednesday evening (October 28, 2009) of the situation at Castle Rock, Colorado. He reported 7" had fallen and that evening forecasts suggest up to 18" might ultimately fall.  Don tells us he watches our WGN weather programs each night and that he misses Chicago!  THANKS for sharing the fabulous photo with us Don!  Always great hearing from Chicagoans--no matter where they are!  Glad we can share a little "home" with you here on our Weather Blog!  All the best!
 

Tom Skilling
 

Photo courtesy of Don Kubla, Castle Rock, Colorado
 

Gene Herrick sent us this beautiful shot of Friday's sunset as seen from Chicago Heights.
Thanks for the great picture Gene!



Photo courtesy of Gene Herrick, Chicago Heights
 

The beautiful sunset Friday caught the attention of a number of people across the area.  No wonder!  The hues of orange and red were like nothing short of spectacular.  Thanks to each of you who contributed pictures!! 
 
Tom Skilling
 

 
Photo courtesy of Dan Diampaolo, Bensenville, Il
 

Thanks to Dan Diampaolo for these beautiful fall color photos from Chicago's western suburbs. Dan tool these near Churchville School (which dates back to 1850) in unincorporated Bensenville. THANKS for sharing these with us Dan!
 
Tom Skilling
 



Photos courtesy of Dan Giampaolo, Bensenville, Illinois