Here is more evidence that variations of the sun are responsible for, not only Earth’s climate, but solar “weather” as well. This is ten hours of solar activity compressed into a little over four minutes. You can mute the weird music in the usual YouTube® manner.
Courtesy NASA and APOD
Damsel took this shot of the lower hills dusted with snow this morning. The higher, more distant foothills are obscured by the low-hanging clouds.
The NWS forecast said the snow level would be down to 2200 feet, which is (approximately) our altitude here. However, we did not see any snow although we had some small hail or freezing rain that bounced around on the courtyard for a few minutes early this afternoon.
The forecast is for more rain this evening, but looking at radar and cloud images, I sort of think not. Click on the image to enlarge.
I took this photo of a Desert Mallow wildflower as we walked back from the car show. There was a honey bee deep in the bud collecting nectar. Although today was a beautiful spring-like day, the forecast calls for a chance of showers tonight and tomorrow, with cooler temperatures in the wake of the rain passage. Click on the image to enlarge.
It is an almost daily occurrence to find tail feathers from a mourning dove or some other unfortunate prey of the many hawks and other raptors that hunt the blue skies of Arizona. This one softly landed on the Sedona rocks that cover our RV drive and much of the landscaped part of the property. Click on the image to enlarge.
I watched this short video of a solar flare captured by SDO on New Year’s Eve. The video was on today’s APOD. They compared the prominence to a ballet:
Of particular interest is the tangled magnetic field that directs a type of solar ballet for the hot plasma as it falls back to the Sun.
The sun is approaching solar maximum sometime soon. In some circles, scientists believe we may already have passed the maximum which will prove to be a disappointment to greenbats. It will also disappoint some Ham radio operators who delight in ionospheric radio propagation which is enhanced by solar activity.
We don’t remember having several nights of sub-freezing weather last winter, at least not six consecutive days in a row. Fortunately, we took precautions for possible freezing weather starting as early as November, draining the spa, and flushing the motor home plumbing. No sense in waiting until the last minute. We got this image of the birdbath next to the RV drive yesterday morning (about 10:30 AM) still frozen solid – one big ice cube.
The forecast is for warmer conditions returning by mid-week or so. Not so much sub-freezing nights and warmer days (up to the 60s or so). Click on the image to enlarge.
