Tag: Lake Mary

A Very Foggy Morning

Fog at sunrise in the Mormon Lake Basin.
Fog at sunrise in the Mormon Lake Basin.

A few days ago we had a cold front move across the area and overnight temperatures fell below freezing for a few hours in the higher terrain. It turns out that October is a good month for fog formation from these first frontal incursions. Area lakes still have relatively warm water from the recently ended summer. The passage of the cold air over the warm water allows for increased moisture flux from the warm water into the colder air that increases the dewpoint (and relative humidity) and can result in fog. Also, the shorter days–and longer nights–allows radiation fog to develop in the valleys.

Fog in the Mormon Lake basin with a colorful but diffuse glory.
Fog in the Mormon Lake basin with a colorful but diffuse glory.
A small sailboat lies at anchor on a foggy morning at Upper Lake Mary.
A small sailboat lies at anchor on a foggy morning at Upper Lake Mary.
Fog and Upper Lake Mary.
Fog and Upper Lake Mary.

With that in mind, I found myself driving past Lake Mary to Mormon Lake before sunrise on Tuesday morning. As I approached Lake Mary visibility dropped quickly to 1/4 mile, then 1/8 mile, and then 1/16 mile. Visibility improved once I passed both Lower and Upper Lake Mary. At Mormon Lake, there was fog swirling in the basin and the rising Sun was just starting to illuminate the summits of the San Francisco Peaks.

Fogbow over Upper Lake Mary.
Fogbow over Upper Lake Mary.
Fogbow over Upper Lake Mary.
Fogbow over Upper Lake Mary.

After the fog dissipated in Mormon Lake, I returned to Lake Mary where the fog was still present and I was able to capture fogbows plus a nice photo of a sailboat anchored in the lake.

Time-lapse video of the swirling fog in the Mormon Lake basin.

Time-lapse video of the swirling fog and glory in the Mormon Lake basin.

The time-lapse videos show remarkable motion of the swirling for over Mormon Lake as well as the colorful but diffuse glory that was present.

A very fun morning.

Fog definitions from Weather.gov:

(1) Steam fog (arctic sea smoke). Steam fog forms when water vapor is added to air that is much colder, then condenses into fog. It is commonly seen as wisps of vapor emanating from the surface of water. This fog is most common in middle latitudes near lakes and rivers during autumn and early winter, when waters are still warm and colder air masses prevail.

(2) Radiation fog (ground or valley fog). Radiational cooling produces this type of fog. Under stable nighttime conditions, long-wave radiation is emitted by the ground; this cools the ground, which causes a temperature inversion. In turn, moist air near the ground cools to its dew point. Depending upon ground moisture content, moisture may evaporate into the air, raising the dew point of this stable layer, accelerating radiation fog formation.

Three Planets and the Moon

A few days ago the waxing crescent Moon joined the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars in the evening sky. A few clouds and the reflection of the evening sky in the lake added a bit of color to the scene.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon in the evening sky.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon in the evening sky.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon in the evening sky (with labels).
Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Moon in the evening sky (with labels).
Screen capture from Stellarium.app showing the positions of the planets and Moon in the evening sky.
Screen capture from Stellarium.app showing the positions of the planets and Moon in the evening sky.

Afterwards, I stayed around to watch the rocket launch described in the previous post.

The Lakes are Full of Water

The upside to the epic Winter we recently experienced is the tremendous amount of snow melt that filled many of the lakes across northern Arizona. Over the past several weeks we have visited several of these by car, mountain bike, running, and hiking.

Upper and Lower Lake Mary (27 April 2023).
Upper and Lower Lake Mary (27 April 2023).

This is one of my favorites. It shows Upper Lake Mary, a portion of the spillway, and Lower Lake Mary. It’s also nice that there is a nice mirror reflection of the trees in the water. This shot is only possible when both lakes are full.

Earlier we had visitied Marshall Lake. It’s not as full as it was a few years ago but considerably better than the past several years.

Marshall Lake, Coconino National Forest (20 April 2023).
Marshall Lake, Coconino National Forest (20 April 2023).

We did a trail run along the Arizona Trail on top of Anderson Mesa and visited Prime Lake and Vail Lake, both with lots of water.

Prime Lake, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Prime Lake, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Descriptive sign at Prime Lake.
Descriptive sign at Prime Lake.
Vail Lake on Anderson Mesa, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).
Vail Lake on Anderson Mesa, Coconino National Forest (24 April 2023).

Here are some additional images of Lake Mary taken on various days in April.

Upper Lake Mary.
Upper Lake Mary.
The outlet on Upper Lake Mary and inlet on Lower Lake Mary.
The outlet on Upper Lake Mary and inlet on Lower Lake Mary.

We rode our mountain bikes up Schultz Pass Road to Schultz Tank. It has been a small puddle the past two seasons but is once again full.

Schultz Tank is full (01 May 2023).
Schultz Tank is full (01 May 2023).

Finally, we did a short hike through the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash to this set of cascades.

Cascades along the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash, Coconino National Forest (03 May 2023).
Cascades along the upper portions of Pumphouse Wash, Coconino National Forest (03 May 2023).
Pumphouse Wash.
Pumphouse Wash.
Series of cascades that terminates in a large and deep pool on Pumphouse Wash.
Series of cascades that terminates in a large and deep pool on Pumphouse Wash.

The snow melt is done and we are now in our dry season. Lake levels and stream flows will diminish until the summer rainy season starts in July.

 

Sunrise, Sunset, Rainbows, and Fog

The North American Monsoon continues to bring convective activity to much of northern Arizona on a daily basis. There have been plenty of opportunities for colorful sunrises and sunsets as well as rainbows and even some fog.

Light rain showers are illuminated by the rising sun over Anderson Mesa.
Light rain showers are illuminated by the rising sun over Anderson Mesa.
A partial rainbow appears right after sunrise over Mormon Mountain.
A partial rainbow appears right after sunrise over Mormon Mountain.
Early morning light on Upper Lake Mary.
Early morning light on Upper Lake Mary.
Sunset colors illuminate a thunderstorm near Twin Arrows.
Sunset colors illuminate a thunderstorm near Twin Arrows.
The setting sun briefly illuminates heavy rain falling on the San Francisco Peaks.
The setting sun briefly illuminates heavy rain falling on the San Francisco Peaks.
Light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is illuminated by the setting sun.
Light rain from a dissipating thunderstorm is illuminated by the setting sun.
The almost daily rainfall has resulted in many opportunities for morning fog.
The almost daily rainfall has resulted in many opportunities for morning fog.

The rainy season should continue for at least a few more weeks so there should be additional opportunities for colorful photographs.

The Moon and Two Planets in the Evening Sky

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Yesterday (12 May 2021) provided an opportunity to view the thin crescent Moon very close to the planet Venus. Also visible in the evening twilight sky was Mercury higher above the pair.

For a few months each year, it is possible to be located so that the setting of the 1-day old crescent Moon aligns along the length of Upper Lake Mary. This allows for a long fetch of water in which to get reflections of the Moon and planets. Of course, this only works if it is not windy and spring is our windy season. So it was very nice to have both clear skies and very light winds for this event.

Moon, Venus, and Mercury in the evening sky.
Moon, Venus, and Mercury in the evening sky.

In the above image the crescent Moon is just slightly above and to the left of Venus. Near the top center of the image is Mercury. Venus is still rising higher in the sky each day while Mercury is dropping lower. Later this month they will pass by each other with ~0.4° of separation. That should be another interesting event to photograph.

The Moon and Venus during evening twilight.
The Moon and Venus during evening twilight.

Two days earlier there will be a total Lunar eclipse taking place in the pre-dawn hours.