Category Archives: weather

In early November, snow is high in the mountains; by late November, it has descended to lake level. Between those occasions, the mountainside presents a canvas upon which two distinctly different patterns of white are painted. Rime on the mountainside … Continue reading →

Long parallel lines of bubbles are often seen on the lake surface when the wind speed exceeds about 11 km/hr but is less than about 45 km/hr (when the pattern breaks up). Judging by the sparcity of white caps in … Continue reading →

There is a time in the Fall when the view of Sphinx (over 2800 m. in the Purcell Mountains) as seen from the West Arm presents an irresistible combination of water, trees, and snow—well worth a fanciful interpretation. The Kootenay-Lake Website offers … Continue reading →

Fallstreaks (cirrus uncinus) add a touch of white lace to a blue sky. Continue reading →

October brings mushrooms, autumn leaves, bears, and, Ta Da: steam fog. Certainly, steam fog on the Lake can be seen earlier in the fall, and can become downright spectacular during an outbreak of cold air in the winter. But a … Continue reading →

When there is a vigorous rain, but no wind, the surface of the Lake becomes patterned with both brighter and darker regions (pictures, below). Why does it do this? What causes it to look this way? The answer is not … Continue reading →

As a small child playing on a summer beach on the West Arm, it was a source of frustration for me that as the Sun moved into the west, it was often blocked by clouds that had grown on the … Continue reading →

Around the Lake, mountain waves are common. Analogous to the waves in a creek downstream from a submerged rock, the mountain waves are undulations in the airflow as a result of the wind blowing over a mountain. Usually, the visual … Continue reading →

Bits and pieces of a 22-degree halo around the Sun can be seen many times throughout the year. Less commonly seen is a complete 22-degree halo around the Moon at night. The reason is simple, it takes nearly a full … Continue reading →

One of the delights of the Lake in the fall and winter is the frequent appearance of steam fog. But, only when there is a cold, brisk wind will that fog be sculpted to form devils—the whorl winds in the … Continue reading →