David Blanchard

A narrow section of the Canyon of Fools Trail in Sedona, Arizona.

Choose wisely. The trail has multiple sections in which you can choose Intermediate or Difficult. The ratings apply to mountain biking and are less relevant to runners.

View of Sedona's red rocks from Mescal Trail. Boynton Spire is in the middle.

Today's trail run.

Today's group run connected several trails to get a loop: Cockscomb-- Dawa--Canyon of Fools--Yucca--Mescal--Deadmans Pass--Aerie. About 5.8 miles.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷

Sure enough...60+ degrees yesterday and today. Snow is gone; mud remains.

#azwx #wxsky

Strike it and it makes a musical note.

A trail post with signs for the Del Sol Trail and Third Rock trail. We went out on the former and returned on the latter.

On a social trail that will soon become part of the official trail network in this area. Several runners can be seen running along a sandstone bench.

There really is a gong on this trail and we stopped to ring it.

Map of looped trails. About 7 miles.

We joined up with the Sedona trail running group this morning and connected several trail segments to get a 7-mile loop. Only missed one turn. Lots of up-and-down and up-and-down on these trails.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷

Graphical forecast for Flagstaff, Arizona.

Summary of the recent multi-day winter event at Flagstaff airport (KFLG):

Total water equivalent: 2.02"
Total snow: 11.2"

Maximum 2-minute wind: 47 mph
Maximum wind gust: 66 mph

And the forecast for this week: high temps in the 60s.

#azwx #wxsky

Flagstaff Cloud Appreciators Society For Those Who Enjoy the Beauty of Clouds Meeting: 6 pm - 7:15 pm Wednesday, February 25, 2026 East Flagstaff Public Library 3000 N 4th Street, Suite 5 Scott Thybony Scott is a Flagstaff author whose distinctive voice is heard on his Canyon Commentaries on KNAU radio. He will read from his work in progress, Cloud Hidden, recounting his experience at Yuma Point during a monsoon storm, and other adventures at Grand Canyon. Brian Klimowski Brian, who is retiring in March from his role as Meteorologist in Charge at the National Weather Service in Flagstaff, will present A Career in the Clouds -Reflections and Images from 30 Years with the National Weather Service. Questions? Contact Tom Bean tom@tombean.com

This may be of interest to those in the Flagstaff area. Presentations by Scott Thybony and Brian Klimowski at the Flagstaff Cloud Appreciators Society meeting.

I may have a short presentation as well -- time permitting.

Details on the flyer and Alt Text.

#azwx #wxsky

Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) & Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) in the constellation Orion. Feb 2026. Stacked using Siril 1.4 and using star reduction. Details: https://www.dblanchard.net/blog/2026/02/orion-in-february/

Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) & Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) in the constellation Orion. Feb 2026. Details: https://www.dblanchard.net/blog/2026/02/orion-in-february/

Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) & Flame Nebula (NGC 2024) in the constellation Orion. Feb 2026.

Nikon D850, Nikkor 180mm ED AI-S, ƒ/4.0, 73 x 60 seconds, ISO 400.

Processed in Siril 1.4 with Star Reduction, rnc-color-stretch, and Lr/Ps.

www.dblanchard.net/blog/2026/02...

#astrophotography

Skiers, snowshoers, and boot hikers in Fort Tuthill near Flagstaff, AZ this morning. A chilly 5°F at the start.

Temps stayed pretty cool yesterday afternoon (Tmax 34°F) so the snow survived the afternoon sun. We were joined this morning by some friends as we returned to Fort Tuthill for a few quick miles in the snow. Cold start (5°F) but a mild finish (27°F).

#azwx #wxsky #landscape 📷

A skier moves across freshly fallen snow on an old road in a forest of Ponderosa pines.

A skier on the Soldiers Trail in Fort Tuthill, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Soldiers Trail in Fort Tuthill, Flagstaff, Arizona. There are no tracks in the snow.

Good time to xc ski at Fort Tuthill. Nice powder but not very deep. With temps forecast to be in the 60s in just a few days this will only be a memory.

#ski #azwx #landscape 📷

All you wanted to know about chaff:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaff_(...

Radar loop suggests the origins of the chaff was between Las Vegas and Phoenix. Lots of bombing ranges out there.

Radar image shows multiple east-west bands of low reflectivity that are not produced by weather -- but are likely from electronic countermeasures (i.e., "chaff") from military aircraft.

Radar image from KFSX showing streaks that are probably from chaff or similar. Anyone hear any military jets screaming overhead?

#radar #chaff #azwx

METAR observations from Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (KFLG). A peak wind of 66 mph occurred at 8:02 this morning.

Radar image from KFSX radar showing the strong orographic precipitation occurring along the Mogollon Rim.

Composite image of multiple radars showing the strong band of precipitation in NW AZ as well as the orographic precipitation along the Mogollon Rim.

Winds have gusted to 66 mph at Flagstaff airport. Main band of precipitation is moving across NW AZ -- with strong orographic snow along the Mogollon Rim. Has winter finally arrived?

#azwx #wxsky

Screen shot from Stellarium app showing the closest approach of Mercury and the Moon as seen from Flagstaff, AZ.

Screenshot from Stellarium showing the position of Mercury and Moon near the end of Civil Twilight -- when both objects might be visible from Flagstaff, AZ.

Tomorrow's crescent Moon passes very close to Mercury viewed from Flagstaff. Unfortunately, it will be snowing.

•Closest approach in late afternoon: 0.046° (~1755 MST)
*Near the end of Civil Twilight (~1835 MST)

#astrophotography #moon #mercury

Running down Herkenham Trail with views of Sedona's red rocks, buttes, and mesas in the distance.

Beautiful red paintbrush flowering on the side of the trail.

A runner looks up at the canyon rim as the trail crosses Carroll Canyon.

Herkenham, Old Post, Carroll Canyon, Skywalker, and Over Easy trails.

Trail run in the Carroll Canyon network of trails in Sedona yesterday included Herkenham, Old Post, Carroll Canyon, Skywalker, and Over Easy trails. About 5.5 miles. Mild temperatures, mostly cloudy, and breezy conditions.

Rest of week will be cold with rain/snow.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷

Typo in Alt Text. Should be KFLG.

MRMS depiction of total precipitation (multi-sensor estimate) over northern Arizona. Dot is location of KFGZ and the estimate is 0.52" while the ASOS reported 0.62" -- pretty close.

ASOS reports from Flagstaff airport (KFLG) including precipitation total (0/62"). Started as rain then turned to snow.

KFSX radar depiction at 11:28 MST. Snow is increasing across the Mogollon Rim at this time.

A bit surprised at the lack of overnight snow. Was expecting several inches but only an inch. On the other hand, total precip was 0.62" so most of it fell as rain rather than snow (or it melted overnight). But there is more to come.

#azwx #wxsky #Flagstaff

The colors of the last sunlight paint the loops and bands of the plume from the Vandenberg launch of the evening of February 14, 2026. Golds and blues dominate the color of the lighting in different parts of the plume depending on their altitude and proximity to the Earth shadow edge. This edge is lined with a spectral gradations of filtered sunlight going from white to yellow to orange and deep red. In places a bright blue glow dominates, perhaps from the colors most efficiently 'forward scattered' from the full spectrum sunlight upon the highest portions. This photograph is from a tripod mounted Canon SLR with an exposure of 3.2 seconds at ISO 1000 at F5.6. This is thus brighter and more colorful than the eye saw it but the detail and color are real. Think of it as a form of wide angle Astrophotraphy.

The Vandenberg launch of February 14th, 2026 was optimally timed for illumination of the initial as well as the lingering plume. Tonight this plume underwent intriguing looping and stretching as Earths shadow passed across it with reds, golds and blues dominating the last lighting here and there.

My location (white dot) and launch trajectory.

Time lapse of Saturday evening rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Trajectory of the launch was to the southwest so the rocket never got very high above the horizon -- and clouds.

#astrophotography #landscape 📷 #rocket

The sun leaves streaks of light as it passes through layers of fog amongst the red rocks of Sedona.

Red rock towers along Made in the Shade Trail in Sedona.

Slim Shady Trail follows this shallow drainage full of sandstone benches and small pools of water.

Double loops from today's run.

Saturday's group run in Sedona was on Slim Shady, Made in the Shade, Templeton, and Hermit Trails. A chilly start with a warm finish.

Yesterday's rain left some morning fog around the red rocks.

#trailrunning #landscape 📷

The start in Buffalo Park with a spectacular lenticular cloud over the peaks.

This is part of the upgraded Oldham Trail as it travels through pine and oak forests.

Signs marking the new alignment of the trail. The old trail still exists.

Panoramic view of a lenticular cloud over the Dry Lake Hills. Rocky Ridge Trail is in the foreground.

Run on Tuesday took us through Buffalo Park and onto [New] Oldham, AZ Trail, Rocky Ridge and [Old] Oldham. Oldham has been realigned several times over the years. Probably will be again...

#trailrunning #landscape 📷

Contextualizing the US winter so far: cold and snowy/icy in the East, but unusual warmth causing issues in the West A pattern change this week will at least bring some improvement in both regions

Took a look today at how and why the weather has been so persistently warm in the West and cold in the East - h/t to @weatherwest.bsky.social and @rschumacher.cloud for their great recent posts summarizing the precarious state of Western snowpack that I highlight in my post. tinyurl.com/3zhzd5b4

How does this year compare to the snow droughts of the past? - Colorado Climate Blog Colorado’s mountain snowpack is in bad shape this year. It’s been extremely warm, and snowstorms have been few and far between. Based on data from the SNOTEL network, the amount of water stored in the...

The mountain snowpack so far this winter is in bad shape. Long-time Coloradans might remember two other terrible winters for snow: 1976-77 and 1980-81. Our latest blog post takes a look at how this year compares to those snow droughts of the past. #cowx

Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association From Vecna, Demogorgons, Holly the Heroic, Hopper (Hawkins PD) and Joyce Byers, Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, Eleven, Dustin and Hell Fire, and the rest of the Hawkins community, congrats to all.....

Spent Saturday morning working at the aid station located at the turnaround point for the Run Sedona half-marathon. Lots of fun. Our costume theme this year was "Stranger Things." Afterwards many of us did a 10k trail run.

#trailrunning #RunSedona

Moments before Moonrise and the horizon is starting to glow.

A thin sliver of the Moon appears above the trees on the distant horizon.

The Moon has risen higher and is bisected by a thin band of clouds giving the appearance of Moon rings. Turbulence and other atmospheric effects render the Moon's edges jagged instead of smooth.

A sequence of photos of the Moonrise on Wednesday evening.

#astrophotography #landscape 📷

Water vapor satellite imagery loop shows the extent of the western ridge of high pressure.

https://www.atmos.albany.edu/student/abentley/realtime/images/northamer/500g_anom/500g_anom_57.png

Impressive ridge/high pressure over the west with 2.5-3.0 standardized geopotential height anomalies. (Link in Alt Text).

#weather #azwx #weathersky

Numerous sunspots located on the face of the sun today.

Scintillation of Sirius. Moving the camera lens while shooting a 2-second exposure of Sirius shows various colors (e.g., twinkling) as the light travels through a turbulent atmosphere.

Moonrise. The upper limb of the moon rises above a horizon of distant trees.

A couple of sky shots from the last two days:

1. Sunspots
2. Scintillation of Sirius
3. Moonrise.

#astrophotography #sunspots #moon

A runner on the Munds Wagon Trail with some towering red rocks in the distance (and a bit overexposed).

At the high point of the loop and a time to regroup. Hangover Trail.

At the high point on Hangover Trail.

Finally, the photographer gets photographed. Approaching the high point on Hangover Trail. (Photo by Ron)

We joined up with the Sedona Trail Running group today to do a loop on Munds Wagon, Hangover, unnamed social trail, and Huckaby Trails. About 5.2 miles and 1k vertical feet.

#trailrunning #sedona