Full cloud inversions in the Grand Canyon
May 21, 2017 8:34 PM Subscribe
Thanks!
posted by Grandysaur at 8:48 PM on May 21, 2017
posted by Grandysaur at 8:48 PM on May 21, 2017
Gorgeous.
We get these inversion layers here in the Bay Area, and I feel fortunate to see them as frequently as I do, from the top of the Marin Headlands, where sometimes only the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge poke through, and maybe the tip of the Transamerica building. Blinding sun, a sea of white fog below, and even when there are no birds to count or ID, I feel a deep gratitude to be able to witness it.
posted by rtha at 10:08 PM on May 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
We get these inversion layers here in the Bay Area, and I feel fortunate to see them as frequently as I do, from the top of the Marin Headlands, where sometimes only the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge poke through, and maybe the tip of the Transamerica building. Blinding sun, a sea of white fog below, and even when there are no birds to count or ID, I feel a deep gratitude to be able to witness it.
posted by rtha at 10:08 PM on May 21, 2017 [2 favorites]
That's beautiful, thanks.
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:20 PM on May 21, 2017
posted by Joe in Australia at 10:20 PM on May 21, 2017
Thank you for this, I flirted with three different outdoorsy guys tonight using that link.
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:31 PM on May 21, 2017 [10 favorites]
posted by roger ackroyd at 10:31 PM on May 21, 2017 [10 favorites]
Beautiful but this also makes me sorry for the park rangers working the gates at the Canyon. When things like this happen, there are a lot of people who demand their entrance fee money back because "they couldn't see the Canyon." This despite the signs at the gate saying there are no refunds for poor visibility. Apparently some people get pretty nasty.
posted by azpenguin at 11:11 PM on May 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by azpenguin at 11:11 PM on May 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
It's posts like this why I didn't install the Cloud-to-Butt plugin on my browser.
posted by radwolf76 at 4:58 AM on May 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by radwolf76 at 4:58 AM on May 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
I used to drive up to Mt Tam in Marin all the time, sit on a rock and look out at the bay area while picnicking. It was a super easy, relaxing moment, with friends or alone.
I forgot about the one time I went there (as per rtha) and the whole bay was fogged in. I thought "oh man, you can barely see anything" but before I got to the end of my mental sentence was taken by the beauty of the tops of the clouds, the tops of the buildings, and the border of clouds and water. Super fun.
posted by Phredward at 6:05 AM on May 22, 2017
I forgot about the one time I went there (as per rtha) and the whole bay was fogged in. I thought "oh man, you can barely see anything" but before I got to the end of my mental sentence was taken by the beauty of the tops of the clouds, the tops of the buildings, and the border of clouds and water. Super fun.
posted by Phredward at 6:05 AM on May 22, 2017
Having just been at the South rim last week, I thank you heartily for this! That wave at 1:50 looks like the ocean. And that last shot - storm, stars, lightning illumination...wow!
posted by notsnot at 7:08 AM on May 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by notsnot at 7:08 AM on May 22, 2017 [1 favorite]
Gorgeous!
If you want to know what the Grand Canyon looks like in real time, the NPS has a camera on it with a 15-minute refresh: Grand Canyon National Park - view from Yavapai Point looking northwest. (It's pretty clear at the moment, but you can scroll through the archives and find stills during the cloud inversions.)
I more frequently see clouds filling the valley in the Pasayten Wilderness (WA) on the U.S. Forest Service webcam (which also updates every 15 min). I'm not sure if they're cloud inversions or some other process, but they can be spectacular.
[One day I will make an FPP about the NPS and FS webcams, because I am obsessed with them. (So obsessed that I made myself a little script to automagically update my computer desktop to the current image from a site of choice, so that I can watch while I work.) Today is not that day, though.]
posted by Westringia F. at 7:46 AM on May 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
If you want to know what the Grand Canyon looks like in real time, the NPS has a camera on it with a 15-minute refresh: Grand Canyon National Park - view from Yavapai Point looking northwest. (It's pretty clear at the moment, but you can scroll through the archives and find stills during the cloud inversions.)
I more frequently see clouds filling the valley in the Pasayten Wilderness (WA) on the U.S. Forest Service webcam (which also updates every 15 min). I'm not sure if they're cloud inversions or some other process, but they can be spectacular.
[One day I will make an FPP about the NPS and FS webcams, because I am obsessed with them. (So obsessed that I made myself a little script to automagically update my computer desktop to the current image from a site of choice, so that I can watch while I work.) Today is not that day, though.]
posted by Westringia F. at 7:46 AM on May 22, 2017 [4 favorites]
Such a nice Metafilter present here. Thank you. Those cloud wraiths leaping over the low gaps in mesas!
posted by Oyéah at 10:34 AM on May 22, 2017
posted by Oyéah at 10:34 AM on May 22, 2017
We did not see a cloud inversion in our three days at the North Rim last year. I want my money back. (Note: we had an annual pass for public lands and we arrived at the park after the last employee checking such things had left for the day, so not only did we not pay at the gate, there wasn't anybody there not to pay, and I don't want any money that I didn't pay back.)
posted by fedward at 2:23 PM on May 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by fedward at 2:23 PM on May 22, 2017 [2 favorites]
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