The giant comma-shaped storm systems that traverse the Midwest from fall through spring carry more than a few secrets. Radar, lidar, and profiler beams are now slicing through those storms, hunting for small-scale features that normally go unobserved.

If the last few years have seen a so-called quiet Sun, its silence has spoken volumes. Researchers have taken advantage of a raft of new sensors and a special observing campaign to learn much about what happens when the sun temporarily powers down.

Even if the onslaught paled next to great winter outbreaks of the past, it was impressively persistent across some influential areas, including southeast England and the U.S. mid-Atlantic.