Aurora Over North Central Illinois

A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit the earth yesterday and as result, I was fortunate to capture the aurora borealis with reasonable success around 9 PM CDT.

Steam Bust

Once again I headed down by the Sangamon river to try my luck with giant steam devils since temperatures hovering around freezing coupled with warm water made for ideal conditions. Despite the presence of heavy mist, wind profiles were unidirectional so there wasn't any shear get things spinning which resulted in an overall bust. Adding to the disappointment, my camera took a nosedive into wet sand for which it is presently unknown if my 300mm is toast. Anyways, a nearby field that was coated in frost caught my attention so I checked it out with the macro lens. The frost was not the photogenic variety like hoar crystals however, frozen dewdrops were in abundance. One in particular developed an impressive ICE SPIKE that was roughly an inch in length making this first official entry for the 12/13 frozen phenomena season a successful one despite the potential setback for which I am afraid to find out lol.

Chilly Sunset

Watching satellite for placement of the clearing line around sundown, I was expecting a little more than what was observed behind the current system to usher in the coldest air of the season thus far. Flickers of lightning with their accompanying rumble of thunder to the distant south while being peppered with sleet still made for an interesting experience.