Category Archives: weather

  Anchor ice (also called bottom-fast ice) is ice attached (anchored) to the bottom of a stream. At first blush, it seems rather odd that any ice should form on the bottom of a water body. After all, for ice … Continue reading →

  This morning, Kootenay Lake was a devils’ playground. It was spellbinding to watch, but also tooth chattering and bone chilling. Within easy sight, dozens upon dozens of devils frolicked. The experience was bone chilling as the temperature was about … Continue reading →

  Snow is white—which is really just to say, it is the same colour as the light source. But, white on a tree does not require snow—frost is white; so is rime. We have had extensive rime on mountain slopes … Continue reading →

  Steam fog There are two distinct processes that may lead to the formation of cloud or fog. One is vapour cooling; the other is vapour mixing. Steam fog results from the second: two volumes of vapour with different temperatures and … Continue reading →

  You can stick your finger into a glass of water, but not through a block of ice. That pretty well explains what is going on in this morning’s picture of fallstreaks. Water molecules are not as tightly bound together … Continue reading →

  I don’t get to see the parhelic circle very often. It is usually faint—albeit unmistakable—even on the few occasions it appears. The best recent show was over a year ago when the sky displayed not only a parhelic circle, … Continue reading →

  The trouble with rainbows is, frankly, all that rain. Within minutes of my camera begging me to take it out to see the rainbow, we both were soaked. I could not wipe its lens quickly enough to keep drops … Continue reading →

  For the last week I have delighted in the adornments accompanying mountain waves. Just as a moving boat will leave waves in its wake, so too can a mountain—although in this case, the air moves, not the mountain. Unlike … Continue reading →