SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS: Weather Phenomenon - RARE "Light Pillars" Seen Over Fairbanks, Alaska!

Image Credit & Copyright: Allisha Libby

February 8, 2016 - FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - What's happening behind those houses?

Pictured here are not auroras but nearby light pillars, a nearby phenomenon that can appear as a distant one.

In most places on Earth, a lucky viewer can see a Sun-pillar, a column of light appearing to extend up from the Sun caused by flat fluttering ice-crystals reflecting sunlight from the upper atmosphere.

Usually these ice crystals evaporate before reaching the ground.

Image Credit & Copyright: Allisha Libby

Image Credit & Copyright: Allisha Libby

During freezing temperatures, however, flat fluttering ice crystals may form near the ground in a form of light snow, sometimes known as a crystal fog.

These ice crystals may then reflect ground lights in columns not unlike a Sun-pillar.

The featured image was taken in Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks in central Alaska.

- NASA.

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Signs In The Heavens - RARE "Light Pillars" Photographed Over North Vernon, Indiana!

© Travis Branum

December 7, 2015 - INDIANA, UNITED STATES - Travis Branum from North Vernon shared these beautiful, but eerie photos of giant vertical beams of colored light that appeared over North Vernon Indiana early this morning.

So what is it?

These are called "light pillars" and are pretty rare around these parts.

What caused it?

Light pillars are created through the reflection of light off of numerous tiny ice crystals .

According to Wikipedia:

"The crystals responsible for light pillars usually consist of flat, hexagonal plates, which tend to orient themselves more or less horizontally as they fall through the air.

Their collective surfaces act as a giant mirror, which reflects the light source upwards and/or downwards into a virtual image.

As the crystals are disturbed by turbulence the angle of their surfaces deviates some degrees from the horizontal orientation, causing the reflection (i.e. the light pillar) to become elongated into a column.

The larger the crystals, the more pronounced this effect becomes. More rarely, column-shaped crystals can cause light pillars as well"

The combination of a dense fog and air temperatures in the 20's allowed the water droplets in the fog to freeze into ice crystals allowing the phenomenon to occur.

© Travis Branum

© Travis Branum

This same combo of dense fog and subfreezing temps also contributed to the formation of widespread hoar frost and rime ice.

It made for a neat scene this morning in many locations. - WDRB.

ICE AGE NOW: Death Toll Exceeds 150 In India Cold Wave - Dense Fog And Low Visibility Leads To Widespread Transportation Disruptions!

December 31, 2014 - INDIA - More than 150 people have died in a cold wave sweeping across northern and eastern India and dense fog disrupted air and rail services, reports said on Tuesday.


Sixteen more people died in intense cold or fog-related accidents in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, taking the region's death toll for the month to 140, the Times of India said.

Temperatures reached a low of 0.5 degrees Celsius in the state's Sonbhadra district.


Twelve more cold-related deaths were reported from the eastern state of Bihar, national capital Delhi and neighbouring Haryana state, reports said.

Thick fog at the Delhi airport led to delays of about 100 flights and cancellations of 16 more, broadcaster NDTV reported. About 100 trains were running late due to low visibility.

Winters in India are brief, beginning in December and ending by February, but cause many deaths in the country that is better prepared for its long, hot summers.

Weather bureau officials say cold weather is likely to persist over the next few weeks in most of the northern regions. - News24.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: "This Is Out Of The Ordinary" - "Fogmageddon" Grips Seattle, Spurs Amazing Photos!

October 25, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Seattle is known for it’s gray skies and rainy weather, but experts say the dense fog and temperatures in the 40s or 50s that have blanketed the city over the past several days is out of the ordinary.

Photo: Tim Durkan

Cliff Mass, a University of Washington Meteorologist writes on his blog, “I have forecast here for many decades and I can not remember a situation that is even close.”

The cause, according to Mass, is an odd combination of long-lasting high pressure, drought, and dense low clouds. In short, the high pressure on either side of the city is trapping colder air in the middle, close to the ground. The result? Fog, and lots of it.


WATCH: 'Fogmageddon' grips Seattle.

The current foggy streak is standing at seven days. According to Seattle’s KomoNews.com that puts the current stretch in a seven-way tie for the fifth longest run in the city. The No. 1 spot goes to a 13-day streak from December of 1985. But according to local reports the current weather pattern could make a run at the record with the sun not in the forecast at least for the next several days.

Ironically the only thing that will wipe out the dreary conditions is a low pressure system; in other words a storm.

Photo: Ross Fletcher.

Photo: KIRO 7.

Photo: Monica Guzman.

Such a system is on the way but is not guaranteed to hit the city. The earliest it will get there, if at all, is sometime next week. Until then Seattle will continue to see the same gray skies and dense low clouds.

Those in and around Seattle are making the best of the extraordinary conditions and sharing on Twitter.

For those who just can't take it anymore the sun isn’t that far away, at least geographically. Mass notes in his blog that while Seattle may be under a gray blanket the sun is shining and the air is warm just an hour outside the city. - Yahoo.

EXTREME WEATHER: More Electric Power Poles Burst Into Flames In Texas?!

December 29, 2012 - UNITED STATES - Thousands of people in the area are waking up without power.

Austin Energy says up to 50 pole fires sparked overnight due to dirt and moisture on equipment, causing power outages for about 4,000 customers.

Experts say the mist in the air Friday morning turned dust on electric poles to mud, which created the sparks.

There have also been reports of outages for Pedernales Electric customers. Officials ask those customers to call 888-883-3379 to report an outage.

Austin Energy says 16 crews are working to restore power in 32 locations. - KVUE.

EXTREME WEATHER: Dense Fog and Dust Results in Dozens of Power Pole Fires in Central Texas!

December 08, 2012 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - Thousands across parts of Central Texas were left without power on Thursday after dozens of power poles suddenly burst into flames, likely caused by the weather conditions.  A Department of Public Safety communications officer said power poles in Hill, Falls, Bell, Williamson and McLennan counties began bursting into flames at about 4 a.m. CST Thursday, according to KWTX. 

Dense fog results in numerous power pole fires in Central Texas early Thursday.
Credits: (wikipedia.org).

The power poles were reportedly burning at the tops of the poles, some involving transformers.  As many as 50 power poles were reported burning at one point early Thursday across parts of Hill County alone.  Hilco Electric Cooperative, which serves Dallas, Ellis, Hill, McLennan and Johnson counties, had 26 poles catch fire, 24 of them in Hill and McLennan Counties, assistant general manager Lea Sanders said.  The power company, Oncor, meanwhile, reported that about a dozen utility poles throughout several counties caught fire, spokesman Mike Cain said.  More than 4,000 lost power as a result of the power pole fires early Thursday. 

One power company technician said that the fires likely were caused by a build up of dust on transformers that shorted out due to low-lying fog, according to the WacoTrib.  The phenomenon that caused the fires, known as “tracking,” can occur when dust accumulated on the insulators of utility poles comes into contact with heavy fog conditions.  The moisture, combined with caked-on elements, can act as a conductor of sorts, causing electricity in the power lines to arc and the poles to catch fire, several experts said.  The National Weather Service reported dense fog developed on an initial wave of moisture that surged across the region early Thursday morning.  A similar incident occurred just last month in South Texas.  According to the McAllen Monitor, 18,000 customers in Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron and Willacy counties lost power after numerous poles caught fire during foggy conditions on Nov. 16.  It was not known exactly how many total poles caught fire or how many total customers lost power in Central Texas because of arcing issues. -  Examiner.

DISASTER IMPACT: Dense Fog Causes "Catastrophic" 100-Vehicle Pileup in Southeast Texas - Kills 2 and Sends 51 to Hospital!

November 22, 2012 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - Two people died and more than 80 were hurt Thursday when at least 100 vehicles collided on a Texas highway in dense fog, leaving trucks twisted on top of each other and authorities rushing to pull survivors from the wreckage. “It is catastrophic,” said Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rod Carroll. “I’ve got cars on top of cars.” The Thanksgiving holiday morning crash happened on Interstate 10 about 128 kilometres east of Houston.

Cars and Trucks are piled on Interstate 10 in Southeast Texas Thursday. 
AP Photo/The Beaumont Enterprise, Guiseppe Barranco.

At least 51 people had been taken to area hospitals, and at least eight were critically hurt, officials at Acadian Ambulance service told KFDM-TV. Carroll said the fog was so thick that officers didn’t immediately realize they were dealing with multiple accidents. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a crash on the eastbound side of the highway led to other accidents in a dangerous chain reaction. There were multiple crashes on the other side of the highway as well. DPS trooper Stephanie Davis told KFDM that two people were killed in an SUV crushed by a tractor trailer. She said at least 100 cars and trucks were involved in the accident. I-10’s eastbound lanes were re-opened Thursday evening after more than eight hours. Carroll said uninjured drivers tried to help as authorities sorted through the wreckage. “It’s just people helping people,” Carroll said. “The foremost thing in this holiday season is how other travellers were helping us when we were overwhelmed, sitting and holding, putting pressure on people that were injured.” - National Post.

WATCH: Driver Describes Texas Highway Crash.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Melbourne hit by "Freaky Armageddon" Fog!

A spooky fog creeping slowly across Melbourne is a rare freak of nature, the weather bureau says. The dense fog covered large sections of Melbourne and was affecting flights at Melbourne Airport.

Passengers are advised to check with their airlines or the Melbourne Airport website after a number of diversions and delays. The fog was expected to cover much of the metropolitan area tonight, after visibility was reduced to 500m at Moorabbin Airport earlier this evening. "So much fog, I can't even see if the tram is coming," one Twitter user wrote. Another tweeted that the eerie sight looked "like Armageddon rolling in". The low visibility was expected to cause traffic problems, but it is unclear whether air traffic will be affected. Victoria Police has urged drivers to "please take care driving on the Westgate Freeway and Bolte Bridge areas". "Slow down and use your fog lights as necessary," authorities said in a tweet.

Senior forecaster Dean Stewart said the dense blanket covering the city had drifted back in from Port Phillip Bay this afternoon on a light southerly wind. He said the fog had originally drifted out to sea on very light winds, but the sun and gentle breezes had been unable to properly disperse it. "Basically it's been over the bay for most of the day, and has just drifted back," he said. "It's not unprecedented. It probably happens every three years or so, when you get this combination of conditions." The bureau predicts the fog will be widespread this evening, but will disperse much more quickly tomorrow morning as a result of northerly winds. - News Australia.