Good morning! First, some factoids about our cool July:
- Grand Rapids hasn't seen a high temperature above average this month.
- The highest temperature in GR this month has been 82°. The last time a summer month (June, July, or August) did NOT reach at least 85° was June 1982.
OK, now I need your opinion on something. Paul Bogdan sent this photo from along I-96 east of Lansing (click to view):
stormcloud.jpe
Paul's note: "We were driving east on I-96 out of Lansing on Sunday July 19, 2009 around 2pm and saw the cloud formation in the center of the picture with the angular edge- almost a perfect right angle. We took a cell phone picture and when I uploaded it and viewed it enlarged on a computer screen I saw the formation on the right center of the picture. Could this be a 'dust devil'?"
So, is there something to this? From a meteorological perspective, the showers that moved through the area Sunday did exhibit some rotation, as indicated by the waterspouts seen on Lake Michigan. But there are other questions with the photo -- why wasn't the "swirl" noticed until later? Why aren't there indications of a lower cloud base in the vicinity? Why didn't any other drivers report anything?
Regardless, it's an interesting photo. Peter Chan's theory is that it's a streak of bird droppings on the windshield -- let me know what you think about it.
Hoping to get to some outdoor events this weekend, including MC'ing the Picnic Pops at Cannonsburg this evening. Have a great weekend, and see you around!
-Jon
- Grand Rapids hasn't seen a high temperature above average this month.
- The highest temperature in GR this month has been 82°. The last time a summer month (June, July, or August) did NOT reach at least 85° was June 1982.
OK, now I need your opinion on something. Paul Bogdan sent this photo from along I-96 east of Lansing (click to view):
stormcloud.jpe
Paul's note: "We were driving east on I-96 out of Lansing on Sunday July 19, 2009 around 2pm and saw the cloud formation in the center of the picture with the angular edge- almost a perfect right angle. We took a cell phone picture and when I uploaded it and viewed it enlarged on a computer screen I saw the formation on the right center of the picture. Could this be a 'dust devil'?
So, is there something to this? From a meteorological perspective, the showers that moved through the area Sunday did exhibit some rotation, as indicated by the waterspouts seen on Lake Michigan. But there are other questions with the photo -- why wasn't the "swirl" noticed until later? Why aren't there indications of a lower cloud base in the vicinity? Why didn't any other drivers report anything?
Regardless, it's an interesting photo. Peter Chan's theory is that it's a streak of bird droppings on the windshield -- let me know what you think about it.
Hoping to get to some outdoor events this weekend, including MC'ing the Picnic Pops at Cannonsburg this evening. Have a great weekend, and see you around!
-Jon
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