Sunday, January 24, 2010

Whiteout

No, I'm not talking about an office supply, I'm talking about an atmospheric condition called a whiteout.

It just occured to me that we have a wildly diverse set of weather conditions here in the midwest. I can remember when I lived in Texas I'd wake up each morning and declare, "Oh my, ANOTHER sunny day."

That was said with a fair dose of sarcasm because if you're from the midwest, after constant sunshine can get on your nerves. I'd pray for rain simply to break the monotony.

Here in the American midwest, thousands of mile from any ocean, we get fog. Heavy, dangerous fog.

The ground has been covered with a thick layer of snow and cold temperatures. This was followed by a warm-up, melting some of the snow, creating fog. Think about driving along the road and encountering fog in low lying areas near a stream. That's the effect except that all the corn and soybean fields put off the moisture that would have been in the stream.

This was the scene yesterday.

White snow, overcast white sky, white fog. Whiteout.



OK, greyout. It was kind of grey.

Can you find the horizon? Just barely, because there's a tree line barely visible in the distance.

It's does make for lovely vignettes, such as this old barn.



The only time I've ever been scared while driving was during a total whiteout, not even when I was driving inside the edge of a tornado. You lose even your sense of up and down, gravity is the only constant factor.

I've decided to continue the weather posts because it occurred to me that I'm interested in the weather in other parts of the country and the world, and so other's might be also.

Have a great day everyone!


20 comments:

Stacey said...

I am in Minnesota, and we have a whiteout this morning. Good thing I don't have anywhere to go!

Michelle said...

Here in Kentucky we had some storms last night with 40mph winds. Just a couple of weeks ago we had snow and single digit temps. Our weather has been quite strange.

Cactus Jack Splash said...

We have had a few of these days here, I find them worrying to drive in

George Gaston said...

Suzanne, great photographs!

The "Whitout" photos has intrigue and mystery about it; where the "Grayout" has calm quiet about it.

It surely has been a winter filled with a variety of weather. Thanks for sharing your creative eye looking through your camera's lens.

Elora said...

Today in southeast West Virginia, the weather service is calling for 2-3 inches of rain in the next 24 hours, coupled with high wind warnings--calling for gusts 50-60 mph on the higher ridges. Not good! Our 18 inches of snow melted, but add a little rain to that and now here on the farm, it is mud, mud, mud!

Grammar Parrot said...

Suzanne, I live in San Antonio, TX and I don't think I'll ever get tired of nice sunny weather! I didn't care much for the 18 degrees we had a few weeks ago, but it was tolerable since we didn't freezing rain to go along with it. The pics of the snow are pretty, but I don't want to go back and live in it! (I grew up in Iowa.)

Jackie said...

I know exactly what you mean about wishing for a rainy day sometimes in the midwest. I love the seasons and just about the time I'm sick of the weather it changes. I love the photo of the barn.

Jackie

seanymph said...

I lived 25 yrs in Ca. I get it. You CAN get tired of sunshine. Now Ive recently moved to Oregon. I hear it rains alot here lol. Well I knew that before I moved here, I had been here several times. But CA. was drying me out, my allergies were getting worse and generally Ive had enough of everything in Ca. I feel refreshed here and dont even seem to mind the rain, altho ask me in a year how I feel about that lol. Meanwhile I just call it liquid sunshine.

Dodie said...

I adore barns. I love the barn picture. We have had too much fog here in Kansas and very dangerous while driving.

Green Gal said...

I love hearing about the weather in other places. I live in California, where weather is pretty moderate. Our recent storms have been quite fierce (of course in CA standards, not standards of other places). We had a tornado warning yesterday! We were dumbfounded. What do we do if a tornado hits? The thought had never crossed my mind. Fortunately, it never touched down and didn't even come near my city. Strange, though. Thanks for sharing--it looks like you live in a beautiful place.

Vee said...

It is interesting to read about weather conditions elsewhere. We call a "whiteout" when it's snowing so fast and thick that we can't see. But it certainly works for fog, too. I think driving in the fog is just about the the worst. Course I hate driving in snow squalls, too.

It looks like a great day for baking, reading, eating, napping, puttering. Hope that you enjoy your day no matter what you're up to.

Mary Rex said...

Here in PA it is raining a nice gentle rain, a little odd for January, but I'll take it.
My favorite weather is in Colorado. One day in August, after a warm sunny day in Crested Butte, we drove into a snow squall- complete with lightning and a rainbow at the end of the snowstorm- just a few miles into the mountains.
I hope to live there again someday.

renae said...

Wow! I can't even imagine it! In Melbourne, Australia the worst we drive in is hail or heavy rain. That looks beautiful and scary!! I enjoy weather posts.

Lisa D. said...

I don't like driving in heavy fog, but I love a foggy day when I'm at home. I love it when it is so foggy I can't see out to the road - I feel all snug and cozy.

Carrie Ann Eddleman said...

Lovely photos, I love the barn. I'm in North Carolina, and it's raining and cold here. I'd rather have the beautiful snow, and I'd also like to live on a farm with that view of the barn. Lucky girl.

http://thevintagewren.blogspot.com/

Pamela said...

I live in Delaware - we can get heavy fog too - not much snow though! Sometimes school is delayed due to thick fog in the mornings. It sure can be disorienting!

Millicent said...

Well, I'm a weather nut too. I live in SE Texas and it was beautiful and sunny here. I don't ever get tired of sunny days; although, I do love a good thunderstorm. We live on the lake and storms are so cool on a lake. I do wish we had more seasons here, but I'm not sure about living in a place that's frozen for quite a few months.

Louise said...

I'm from the Midwest and live in the Southwest now. I NEVER complain about another sunny day. I don't like fog, unless it's in clouds weaving it's way through the hills and valleys. But I never like it when I'm in it.

ingasmile said...

I am down in KS and we had this fog for 5 straight days, I have never seen anything like but it was just from the weather conditions that you are describing. It just wouldn't let up. Yucky after awhile.

Inga

Green Gal said...

We had some thick fog this morning when I was riding my bike to school. I thought of this post and even took a picture of the street with my camera phone while riding. :-)