Picture of the Day - Museum Fire at Dusk

Museum Fire outside Flagstaff, AZ, after sunset tonight. *Update: 1,927 acres at 12% containment but no growth. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Perez (all rights reserved).

Shasta County LP Supercell Redux

Upon further search of Twitter I found some more amazing images of the low precipitation supercell thunderstorm that appeared over the skies of Shasta County in the Redding, CA area. I commend these photographers for capturing so well such mystery and beauty. View more such images in yesterday's blog post HERE.

Photo courtesy of Angela Walfoort (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Angela Walfoort (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Angela Walpoort (all rights reserved)

Photo courtesy of Denis Lincoln (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Derek Taft (all rights reserved)

Photo courtesy of Marisa Earlywine (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Tehama Co. Spotter (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Johnette and Jay @Sigrid_39 (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Monica Leard (all rights reserved).

Shasta County LP Supercell

Earlier this evening, a rare event struck Shasta County in the Redding, CA, area. A low precipitation (LP) super-cell formed and put on a dramatic show, triggering a radar-detected tornado warning, and dumped very large hail in some places. Below are my favorite images. See more such images in tomorrow's blog post HERE.
*NOTE: this very community was assaulted last summer by a large, dangerous fire tornado from the Carr Fire.

Photo courtesy of Michelle Teasley (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of RottenGOP on Twitter (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Mike Chapman (all rights reserved).

Photo by Monica Leard (all rights reserved).

Photo by Drew Tuma (all rights reserved).

Photo by Steve Laymon (all rights reserved).

Photo by Maureen Bonessa (all rights reserved).

Photo courtesy of Sandy Trent (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Here It Comes!

Late this afternoon/early this evening I was out rockhounding in my usual location of late and could not avoid noticing the spectacular sky yet with a note of foreboding as the ongoing fetch of subtropical moisture that has overridden the Central Coast the past several days is slated to finally bring in a powerful Pacific Storm in the days ahead. The story of this impending storm is written in this skyscape. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Tropical Storm Lidia Sunset

I was out rockhounding in Templeton early this evening and captured this image of the sun setting through a gathering gloam as a line of dying thunderstorms approached from the east. A bit later it rained in the area shortly after sunset. This moisture originated from the death of Tropical Storm Lidia which expended itself in the area of Baja California. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Alamo Fire Chase

This afternoon the Alamo Fire, which began in southern San Luis Obispo County yesterday afternoon just north of Highway 166 near Alamo Canyon Road, exploded in the triple digit heat making a run southwards at Highway 166 for the second day in a row. This time it successfully got established south of the highway connecting Bakersfield and Santa Maria and ran amok in the ridges and flats in the vicinity of Twitchell Reservoir. In just a few hours it jumped from 250 acres to 3,400 acres.

This view is from a parking lot adjacent to southbound Highway 101 at the south Spring Street on-ramp looking southeast from Paso Robles, CA. At this point I was en route to meet up with mom and go hunt this fire and see how close we could get and perhaps get some interesting images of it. Note the pyrocumulus cloud atop the main convection column.

This was the view southward from the southern end of the Huasna Valley as mom and I sought to get in as close to this fire as possible. A couple of miles later we turned around at a gate on Huasna River Road.

On the drive into Huasna Valley we encountered several horse trailers filled with horses rapidly been driven out of the valley headed westward with grim faces

On the drive home we encountered a fair amount of radio traffic regarding a "Tower Incident." Given how crummy the radio and cell signal strength is out in Huasana Valley and environs we had missed the initial response to a new serious fire back closer to home atop the Cuesta Grade as started by a car fire on the northbound side of Highway 101.

We passed the Tower Fire on the drive home. The traffic backup on the northbound side of Highway 101 was actually a nightmarish crawl from San Luis Obispo to the top of the grade where the causal car fire was located. By the time we actually got to the fire almost an hour after first entering the queue the fire was pretty much done. I'm still not entirely sure why CAL FIRE needed to close down two of three lanes instead of one of three lanes. 

Here is the causal crispy car that started it all with the CAL FIRE prevention officer busy  investigating why the car caught fire. The Tower Fire started explosively but rapidly lost steam when once its own convection column blocked out the sun and plunged the fire area into a rather dark overcast. The fire burned 58 acres per the air attack.

The smoke from the Alamo Fire veered northwestward and northward from the fire contrary to the predicted Sundowner Winds tonight. This created an ominous smoky sunset over the North County. I shot this image from the northbound Highway 101 park & ride at Curbaril Avenue in Atascadero. All images by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).
*NOTE: to view a professionally-photographed image of today's fire action go HERE.

Picture of the Day - Last Student Teaching Sunset

Tonight was my last night staying late grading papers and inputing grades onto Aeries. This upcoming finals week won't require I do that as I have now done all the remaining heavy work wrapping up grades for the semester apart from the finals they take this week and their history notebooks. I had a ball this year, so much so I feel a bit of melancholy as the end nears and I must leave. It was an amazing experience coming back to my old high school in my mid-40s and student teaching.... the experience far-exceeded my expectations on every level.
Photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

This Opened My Eyes

I have been aware of this progressive trance track "Open Your Eyes" by Russian trance outfit Aurosonic for a few years now. However, for reasons I cannot now fathom, I never felt like sharing it heretofore here despite its abject "epic-ness". This sublime example of progressive trance (the best type) was released in 2013 and features the haunting vocals of Englishwoman Kate Louise Smith. Crank up your speakers and listen, feel, and dance. As hauntingly beautiful as this is, it is also difficult (at least for me) to catch every word of these soulful lyrics, so I include them below courtesy of songlyrics.com:

It's dark out here
In the pursuit of love
Completely unabridged
This silent fortress

My mind escapes me
Feeling it in my bones
The ties that bind
Deny us this love

Open your eyes
Open your eyes
I started blind
But now they're wide open

Open your eyes
Open your eyes
The ties that bind
Deny us this love

And how it breaks me

In the pursuit of love
Completely unabridged
The silent fortress
My mind escapes me
Telling my story well
The ties that bind
Deny us this love

(Alt )

Open you eyes
Open your eyes (open open)
The story's closed
Our love has broken down
Open your eyes
Open your eyes
The ties that bind
Deny us this love

Picture of the Day - Self Same Sunset II

Tonight I shot this image at my Self Help Gang church home group in northwest Templeton during the later-winter Central Coast magic hour when light conditions are sublime for beautiful sunsets. The clouds are unrelated to any significant storm activity but a wintry weather turn in the weather pattern is a few days away. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Windfall Sunset

This afternoon into this evening I worked traffic control at the Rotary Club of Paso Robles Sunrise's 17th annual crab feed fundraiser. Once again, it was held at the Stallion Barn at Windfall Farms. Today was a gorgeous day of the sort that affirms and confirms I live in paradise. A year ago I worked this event in a windy, driving rain. And, as with a year ago, the Rotarians generously fed us salad and garlic toast and pasta with meatballs and of course, those crab legs with lemon butter. Every single person was gracious despite having to walk some distance from their cars. I even bumped into my friends Mike & Denise from the local rockhounding club. Last but not least, I had the privilege of observing the above sunset and a short time later, a spectacular moon-rise. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Atascadero Re-Laked

I worked a wedding at the AARP/Kiwanis Building in Atascadero tonight. Early on in the event before darkness set in I walked across the parking lot to the Atascadero Lake Pavilion and captured this image of the now-not-so-dry lake bed there following the recent epic rainstorms.
Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Autumnal Altocumulus Sunset

Late this afternoon into early this evening I hiked out on the east side of Santa Margarita Lake off of River Road near Pozo, CA. This was the first time in years I hiked there at eventide and it was magical with a dramatic sky filled with altocumulus clouds. In keeping with the recent and ominous trend of ever-warmer temperatures, the weather on this eleventh day of November, even late in the day at dusk, was unusually and unseasonably warm as it has been nearly all of last month and literally all of this month. Last night I had one of my swamp coolers running all night as my house was too warm for me to sleep comfortably. The leaves are starting to fall but only somewhat steadily because of the diminished daylight, NOT due to any overnight cold temperatures. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes

Picture of the Day - Beacon of Light at Dusk

Tonight shortly before I left the Cambria Vets Hall to head home after helping break down the show at the end of the weekend, I spotted the potential for a cool photograph in this scene which indeed turned out well. This is the first-order Fresnel lens on display in a protective glass display structure in Cambria, CA, next door to the Vets Hall. It was originally located at Point Piedras Blancas Light Station but was moved from there to protect it from vandalism and such. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Beaut Sunset Sans Clouds

Earlier this evening I fellowshipped with my home group fam formerly known as the 17th Street Gang now rechristened (by me) the Self Help Gang as the generous hosts are my friends the Selfs of Templeton from whence this image was captured earlier tonight at dusk. The Central Coast magic hour can be so beautiful that it needs no clouds to make it so. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Picture of the Day - Songda Gloaming

I captured this image tonight at Robert Hall Winery during a lull in the valet parking action for tonight's Salt Lick BBQ Dinner event. The last light of day penetrates the cloudy remnants of Typhoon Songda now impacting California as the jet stream pulls this moisture into drought-stricken California this weekend. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Self Same Sunset

Tonight I shot this image at my Self Help Gang church home group in northwest Templeton during the Central Coast magic hour when light is veritably magical around here. The clouds are moisture from the business end of an atmospheric river spanning the length of the Pacific Ocean running west to east on a jet stream carrying water moisture from Typhoon Songda. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Eberle Sunset

Tonight I worked at pick-up party at Eberle Winery with my buddy Mike. We were gifted with the privilege of working while watching perhaps the most beautiful and dynamic sunset I have seen all year. The sky kept changing as the angle of the sun changed and interacted with clouds at various degrees longitude and various altitudes and types of clouds.

Picture of the Day - Central Coast Magic Hour

This was the scene tonight at my beloved church home group formerly known on this blog as the "17th Street Gang" whom I now officially christen "The Self Help Gang." Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - A Sunset At Halter Ranch

This evening I worked parking at the autumn pick-up party at Halter Ranch Vineyard in the Adelaida Area. The sunset and scenery upon which it cast its glow and shadow was worthy of sharing here. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Another Smoky Train Wreck Sunset

Tonight I worked another Pomar Junction Train Wreck Friday and once again there was a beautiful smoky sunset caused by the nearly-contained Chimney Fire. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved).