Icy Night

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/2.8, 1/105 sec, ISO5000
“Poor Branch” Cedar Park, 2023

At about 2 am this morning, the icy tree branches started breaking off like crazy around the neighborhood. Our house backs up to a greenbelt, so there are a lot of trees close to us, and I could hear the wood cracking. Lani was also barking and whining, poor girl. I know she just wants to protect us and chase the animals that are making the sounds away, but I couldn’t let her out because it was so dangerous.

I surveyed the damage after it got light and the damage around our yard wasn’t too bad. But while Lani and I were outside, a large branch came down and scared both of us. Thank goodness Lani was at the other end of the yard!

Soonthe temperature rose to above freezing and the ice started to melt. I made a little time-lapse of the trees returning to their normal shape. Enjoy!

Here Comes the Ice

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/2.5, 1/600 sec, ISO320
“Icicles” Cedar Park, 2023

Well, the icy weather has come to Austin! Schools are closed and the city is urging people to stay off the roads. All the trees in the neighborhood are straining under the weight of the frozen stuff, and many branches have already broken and are lying on the ground. So far we’ve been fortunate to only have a couple of small branches come down in your yard.

Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come, so we’re expecting more damage overnight… We’re crossing our fingers that it’s not too bad!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/6.4, 1/105 sec, ISO1000
“Icy Trees” Cedar Park, 2023

Too Many Storms

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/4300 sec, ISO32
“Dangerous Clouds” Cedar Park, 2022

We’ve lived in central Texas for over 20 years now, and we’ve never seen so many tornado warnings. Or perhaps we’ve had plenty of warnings, but this year there have been several actual tornadoes touching the ground near us. It’s pretty scary.

This afternoon, the tornadoes touched down about 40 miles to the north of us in Salado, and a few weeks before that, a tornado touched down about 10 miles away in Round Rock. That’s so close!

Today’s photo is of one of the massive clouds that might have been the one that spawned the tornado up north. Luckily it passed us by without incident.

Here’s a short video of some of the activity that from our backyard window:

Stay safe, everyone!