February 2021 came in with some of the coldest weather in years. The past few days have been a whirlwind of extreme winter weather for Door County and most of Wisconsin. It started on a Thursday when a winter storm blew through with about 6 inches of icy snow. It was quite beautiful as the snow stuck to the trees everywhere you look. It’s actually still there as I write this! Then on Friday and Saturday of last week, extremely cold air graced the area and we have been at 0°F or less, even during the daytime.
It’s really, really cold but the photographer in me is actually fine with it. I love photographing in extreme cold! On the morning that I took the shot above, my car’s thermometer read -11°F. I was bundled up pretty good and had strategically placed hand warmers all over my layers and it didn’t really bother me all that much. Except that my eyes were watering from the cold and immediately freezing. So that was fun!
It was totally worth it because I headed out for a stunning sunrise at the North Pierhead Lighthouse and Door County Land Trust on the shore of Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, Door County.