iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 21h

An interesting mix of summer wildflowers and fall aspen colors along Waterline Road in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff this week. #wildflowers #aspen #landscape 📷

2100

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Did a trail run loop using Oldham, Sunset, and Down Under for about 7 miles and ~1700' vertical. An interesting mix of fall aspen colors and summer wildflowers. #trailrunning #landscape 📷

1110

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Today's group run was along the Arizona Trail between Aspen Corner on Snowbowl Road and Bismarck Lake. Aspen trees were showing a lot of color. Still some wildflowers, too. #trailrunning #landscape 📷

0406

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Venus and Mercury setting in the evening twilight. Venus and its reflection was easy to see; Mercury was much harder and never had a reflection. 1838 MST 01 October 2026; about 30 minutes after sunset and just a few minutes after the end of Civil twilight. #astrophotography #landscape 📷

Venus and Mercury setting in the evening twilight. Venus and its reflection was easy to see; Mercury was much harder and never had a reflection. Ashurst Lake near Flagstaff, Arizona.

0276

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Some new and/or re-aligned trails were completed this week in the Flagstaff/Buffalo Park area. So we had to check them out on a trail run. Nice. Very nice. #trailrunning #landscape 📷

A runner on the recently re-aligned Forces of Nature Trail at the base of Mount Elden north of Flagstaff, Arizona. Large rocks are located to the left of the trail.

A runner passes through a large stand of oak trees on the recently re-aligned Forces of Nature Trail at the base of Mount Elden near Flagstaff, Arizona.

Route of the run from Buffalo Park to Forces of Nature Trail and Camino Trail at the base of Mount Elden.

080

Reposted by David Blanchard

Paula Corrette @pcorrette.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is why I support our public lands. A double rainbow over Isis Temple and the Grand Canyon in the last light of sunset. August 28, 2026.

061

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Sorry..that should be 2.69". (The 2.44" was a 48-h total.)

010

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

An extended period of rain brought several opportunities for weather photography. On Tuesday evening a band of storms (with weak mid-level rotation/shear) moved across northern Arizona. Wednesday morning brought fog and low clouds -- and very green landscapes. #azwx #weather #landscape 📷

Leading edge of convection and outflow winds moves across the Mormon Lake basin (currently there is very little water in the lake) on Tuesday afternoon.

Panoramic view of the leading edge of convection and outflow winds moving across the Mormon Lake basin on Tuesday afternoon. Mormon Mountain is seen on the far right of the image and is draped with low clouds across the summit. In the center distance heavy rain is falling.

Sunrise (but without much Sun) looking across the Mormon Lake basin (which is currently mostly dry). In the foreground the grasses and foliage is very green with a touch of fall color. Some old ranch bulldings are also visible. In the distance a light rain shower obscures the horizon.

Looking across the Mormon Lake basin to a small rise ringed by trees. Some of the trees are starting to show fall colors. In the distance light rain and mist obscures the horizon.

0130

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It's been a great end-of-the-monsoon rainfall event across N AZ (and the SWUS) with storm totals > 2" in many locations and even a few 3-4" amounts. 72-hour rainfall at Flagstaff is 2.44". #azwx #weather #monsoon2026 MRMS

MRMS 72-hour multi-sensor rainfall totals across the southwest US and northwest Mexico. Moisture from tropical systems Odalys and Polo brought substantial moisture northward that interacted with a closed low in the westerlies moving across CA and AZ.

Rainfall totals across the Flagstaff rain gage network.

160

Reposted by David Blanchard

Paul Voosen @voosen.me · 28/09/2026

New Horizons is now *three days away* from shutting off its two heliophysics instruments, simply because NASA has not provided the $2M in funding it had promised to the mission last year or this year. There is no science basis for shutting these off. Our earlier coverage:

science.org

NASA’s New Horizons mission may shut down two instruments over lack of funding

Decision risks “incalculable loss” of data from the edge of the Sun’s influence, scientists say

17668412

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It's been raining for a bit more than 36 hours here in Flagstaff and storm total at the airport is 1.43". Expect more rain today. Satellite image shows Hurricane Polo, TS Rachael, and remnants of Odalys. #azwx #weather #hurricane

Visible satellite image showing the low-level swirl of the remnants of TC Odalys plus landfalling Hurrincane Polo over Mexico. Farther south, Tropical Storm Rachael is strengthening.

MRMS graphic showing rainfall over the past 72 hours across the southwest US.

KFGZ radar (Flagstaff) showing current precipitation.

060

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

So you are saying there is a chance...

010

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Moisture from the remains of Hurricane Odalys continues to bring widespread rainfall to the SWUS. Satellite image shows the plume of moisture and the MRMS graphic shows 48h rainfall totals. Hurricane Polo and Tropical Storm Rachael are also visible in the image. #azwx #weather

Visible satellite image from GOES-18 shows the remains of Hurricane Odalys, Hurricane Pola, and Tropical Storm Rachael. A plume of moisture is streaming from Odalys to the northeast and bringing widespread rainfall to the desert southwest US.

MRMS graphic showing 48h rainfall totals over the southwest US.

080

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Tropical systems Odalys & Polo will bring increases in moisture across the SWUS ahead of a closed low in CA/AZ. This baroclinic low and its positioning fits the climatology for "transition season" supercells and tornadoes in the southwest. www.stormresearch.com/pubs/sls_200... #azwx #weather

500-mb chart showing a deep, baroclinic low over the southwest US.

SkewT-lnP chart for north-central Arizona on Tuesday afternoon. Marginal instability but a strongly curved hodograph suggest possibilities of supercells

070

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Impressive image of Tropical Storm Odalys and Hurricane Polo side-by-side on Sunday morning. Moisture from these systems will move across the SWUS and produce potentially heavy rains. #azwx #weather

Satellite image showing the side-by-side circulations of Tropical Storm Odalys and Hurricane Polo in the eastern Pacific.

040

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I flew in a hurricane on the NOAA WP-3D in 1979. Was a smooth flight even when going thru the eyewall. The Mission Scientist said that was their little secret -- that the flights are mostly smooth. But not always. Also flew thru thunderstorms on this aircraft in the '80s. Those flights were rough!

071

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Did a run today on the Abineau–Waterline–Bear Jaw loop in the San Francisco Peaks. Aspen are starting to show some color and there are still wildflowers. About 7 miles starting at ~8500' and topping out at ~10300'. #trailrunning #landscape 📷 #aspen

A runner ascends through an aspen grove showing fall colors on the Abineau Trail in the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff, Arizona.

A view looking down Abineau Canyon in the San Francisco Peaks. In the far distance is the north rim of Grand Canyon jutting ~1000' feet higher than the south rim. In the foreground is a conifer forest.

At the intersection of the Abineau Trail and Waterline Road. Humphreys Peak (12633') is on the upper right.

Map of the route using Abineau Trail, Waterline Road, and Bear Jaw Trail.

0170

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

RadarScope and Apple CarPlay. Woo-hoo!

040

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Beautiful! I got to photograph last night’s launch but was clouded out of the previous launch.

000

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Thursday morning was moist and foggy across northern Arizona with low clouds and bands of fog obscuring the mountains. Also, some trees are showing a bit of fall color. #azwx #weather #landscape 📷

In the foreground is an escarpment with the [dry] Mormon Lake to the left and the San Francisco Peaks in the far distance.

Fog and low clouds are present in the distance and a forest highway can be seen on the left side of the image.

190

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The KFGZ 00 UTC sounding and hodograph.

000

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Interesting evolution of storms over northern Arizona this afternoon. One storm was a left mover; the other a right mover. #azwx #weather

150

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Went to photograph a rocket launch but it was scrubbed. So, settled for sunset clouds plus the Moon, Venus, & Mercury. #azwx #weather #landscape 📷 #astrophotography

Cirrus clouds are illuminated by the setting Sun. In the distance is Mormon Mountain; in the foreground is the lake bed of Upper Lake Mary -- currently with very low water levels and dry at this end. In the bottom left are several large boulders.

A zoomed-in view of distant thunderstorm anvil clouds illuminated by the setting Sun. The shoulder/ridge of Mormon Mountain is in the middle; the dry lake bed of Upper Lake Mary is in the foreground.

A few virga showers are brightly lit by the setting sun while a Ponderosa pine forest is in the foreground.

Twilight showing high cirrus clouds, the Moon and planets Venus and Mercury. The latter is barely visible in the image. As the sky darkened Mercury dropped behind the clouds.

2278

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Nice example of HCR (horizontal convective rolls) in both visible satellite and radar images this morning across portions of northern Arizona. #azwx #weather

030

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Saturday's group run was up O'Leary Peak to the Fire Lookout tower. About 10 miles and ~2100' ascent. #trailrunning #landscape 📷

0110

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Brilliant sunset followed by great lightning! #azwx #weather #landscape 📷

A few minutes after sunset and the middle and high clouds are still illuminated by the sun. In the foreground is the nearly dry lake bed of Mormon Lake. In the distance is Mormon Mountain.

The sun has set but twilight still illuminates the upper portion of the thunderstorm while the lower part is lit up by a lightning bolt -- which is reflected in the shallow water of the lake bed.

A thunderstorm is illuminated from in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning.

1192

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Sunset light from a few days ago. A short segment of a rainbow is visible and the rain core is illuminated by the Sun. A few minutes later the underside of the clouds glow with sunlight as the rainbow shrinks in size. #azwx #landscape 📷 #rainbow

A distant storm is illuminated by the setting sun. A short segment of rainbow is visible and sunlight is making the rain core glow. A few trees are present in the middle distance and the foreground is a grassland.

The setting sun is illuminating the undersides of the clouds while a very short segment of rainbow is visible. There are trees in the middle distance and grasses in the foreground.

1193

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Hummingbird slammed into a window this morning. Moved it to handrail and out of reach of neighborhood predators. Was unresponsive for ~20 minutes then rolled from its side to a sitting position. Another few minutes and it flew away. Yay! #birds #hummingbird

A dazed hummingbird rests on a wooden handrail. The bird hit a window and was unresponsive except for rapid quivering (heart beat?). It would occasionally open an eye then close it again. From time to time it would extend its tongue. It finally rolled from its side to a sitting position before flying away.

1130

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Group run on forest roads in Government Prairie north of Parks, AZ. About 6 miles and only 162 feet elevation change. Flat! #trailrunning #landscape 📷

Unnamed cinder cone in Government Prairie area north of Parks, Arizona. Two runners can be seen in the middle distance.

Map of the route. This is one of the loops of the 18K and 30k distances in the "Soulstice Prairie Run" to be held in October.

0190

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Active storm day in the eastern Pacific. GOES-18 water vapor channel. #wxsky #weather #hurricanes

082

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

2026 was the 2nd hottest meteorological summer (JJA) on record for Flagstaff. Five of the top 10 hottest summers have occurred since 2020. #azwx #weather

060

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Two lightning photos from a few nights ago. Long past sunset but the Moon was rising to provide some light on the storm. Camera details in Alt Text.

A distant thunderstorm produces several lightning strikes to the ground while the in-cloud portion of the lightning illuminates the cloud. Blue sky and stars are visible in the upper left.

Nikon D850, 34mm, f/8.0, ISO 200, 8 seconds.

A distant thunderstorm produces lightning strikes to the ground while the in-cloud portion of the lightning illuminates the cloud. The rising Moon gently illuminates the spreading anvil.

Nikon D850, 24mm, f/4.0, ISO 400, 8 seconds.

1121

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

For a few days before/after the full Moon the lunar light can be bright enough to create a visible Moonbow (or Lunar rainbow). Here the bow shares the night sky with a flash of lightning. 2025 MST 29 August 2026. Moonrise 1942 MST; Moon ~8° above horizon. #rainbow #moonbow #azwx #astrophotography

A nocturnal thunderstorm in the distance produces a flash of lightning as well as a partial arc of a Lunar rainbow or a Moonbow.

2025 MST 29 August 2026.
Moonrise 1942 MST; Moon ~8° above horizon.

Nikon D850, 24mm, f/8.0, ISO 6400, 15 seconds.

0239

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Late afternoon light on the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. Several thunderstorms can be seen in the distance and a cap cloud lies atop the peaks. A small area in the foreground is also lit by the Sun. #azwx #wxsky #landscape 📷

0130

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Serious flooding along Bright Angel Creek yesterday.

030

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Juvenile red-tailed hawk flying the updrafts on the Mormon Lake escarpment. The birds have become accustomed to visitors at the overlook and happily fly just a a few 10's of meters above. Sony RX10 IV, 600mm (equiv.), 1/2000 sec, f/4, auto ISO. #bif #BirdsInFlight

0120

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Forecast was for mostly cloudy skies -- and it was. Got a brief moment in the clear while the Moon was still low in the east. 0239 UTC and 0415 UTC. #eclipse #astrophotography

1150

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I have a Sony RX10 IV that can shoot about 3 seconds of 960 fps video. Start the video and it writes to memory then hit the stop button and it writes the last 3 seconds to the card. Haven't had a chance to try it yet. Small sensor so results might be noisy.

010

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Trail run today on Orbit-Apollo-Dipper-Spacewalk-Big Bang-Afterglow (the "space loops") and finished on Schultz Creek trail. The fragrance from this cliffrose was enough to make me stop and turn back. #trailrun #wildflowers

Trail map of today's run through the Mount Elden—Dry Lakes (MEDL) area north of Flagstaff.

White flowers on a bushy cliffrose plant on the side of the trail.

Trail sign at Dipper and Apollo. There is a tree swing near here.

Trail sign for Big Bang and Afterglow trails near a large boulder in a forest.

070

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Maybe even better than a lightning trigger! Nice shot.

110

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Saw many wildflowers on a morning walk along the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS) just north of Fort Tuthill County park. After trail re-construction a few years ago, they spread native wildflower seed on the sides. #wildflowers #landscape 📷

070

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Late afternoon light on Sunset Crater Volcano taken from Bonito Park. Focus stacking. #landscape 📷

Late afternoon light illuminates Sunset Crater Volcano while a field of yellow sunflowers is in the middle and foreground.

0101

David Blanchard @davidblanchard.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Fire tower on the summit of Kendrick Peak.

030