Another crop of the same steam devil.

The winds were howling from the north at 40 - 50 km/h. Despite the lake starting out warm, the heat transfer to the air was immense and the water was cooling and icing up quickly. Even so, the water needed to only be a tenth of a degree above freezing to continue steaming. Typically a temperature differential of 18C or greater is all that is required to generate steam fog.

The strong winds which were around 60-70 km/h at 80-120 meters were bending the taller steam devils as they reached up into the sky. The bending of the vortex meant there was additional venting which may have been helping to sustain some of the larger vortices while disrupting the smaller weaker ones.

Again, another crop of the same image.

As the sun began to sink towards the horizon and ever colder air from the north continued to migrate south temperatures began to drop towards -21C. Achieving these aerial images was risky and very challenging because I was operating at the wind limit for my UAV and the battery capacity was reduced due to the falling temperatures. Being over and near the lake compounded the risk that any potential failure would spell a watery end for my UAV.

I just don't understand how birds can take this brutal cold!

This was the most difficult image of the day. Temperatures were cold and there was a large expanse of water between myself and my UAV. The wind was also off shore and attempting to carry my UAV out over the lake. I really had to rush this photo!

Here's the same lateral post from land. It was frigging cold!

Here's a near shot showing the open waters along the north shore. The northerly winds were taking any ice out into the open lake. I'm sure somewhere on the New York side of the lake the ice must have been piling up!

I've lost all the feeling in my body at this point.