Winter Light Shows

The photos below were taken in January and February. Ice crystals from blowing snow created the sun dogs touching the horizon in either side of the Sun in the first image. The refraction (bending) of sunlight passing through ice crystals created the arcs of light visible on either side of the Sun. The middle photo shows low level blowing snow crossing a county road southwest of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The bottom photo was taken on a day when the air was full of ice crystals that had been swept up by the wind.

Sun Dogs on Friday, February 4, 2022, at 6:20 p.m. CST Near Cedar Falls, Iowa. The arcs of light to each side of the sun are sun dogs. This is an optical effect that occurs when is crystals are oriented to bend light rays toward the camera. The top of the blowing snow is visible above the ground where the hazy appearance of the snow crystals ends. The snow is being picked up from the grouind by the wind.

Frigid sunset with Light Drifting Snow on February 4, 2022 at 6:23 p.m. CST Near Cedar Falls, Iowa

Sun Dog visible on Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 10:34 a.m. at Cedar Falls, Iowa. The white hazy sky is caused by sunlight being scattered among snow crystals lifted into the air by gusty surface winds. The sundog occurs when the light is bent (refracted) through the crystal at an angle that forms an arc of light.