A lesson in temperature inversion

Since no one from Indiana has heard of the inversion that I keep referring to (I only learned of it recently myself) I thought I would give a quick explanation as well as some photos. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, "A temperature inversion occurs when air close to the earth is cooler than the air above it. Under these conditions the pollution cannot rise and be dispersed. Cities surrounded by mountains also experience trapping of pollution. Inversion can happen in any season. Winter inversions are likely to cause particulate and carbon monoxide pollution. Summer inversions are more likely to create smog." (http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/Frames/pollution-outdoor-f.html
In past weeks, inversion has caused the air quality to deteriorate to levels below EPA standards. This has wreaked havoc on my poor asthmatic lungs and causes people without respiratory illnesses have all sorts of problems. If you can imagine the valley as a bowl with plastic wrap over it. Below is a picture of our valley as we are driving home one day. You can see the ugly inversion below the arrow.

Below is a picture of the Bear Lake inversion. Beyond the brown weeds you can see white puff clouds. Don't be fooled, it's only inversion.

Here we are driving into the inversion. One minute the sun is shining and the day is beautiful and the next minute, the temperature is 10+ degrees colder and the sun is gone.

I don't know the correlation with inversion and wind but there is little to no wind allowing really amazing ice crystals to form everywhere. They grow out like little platforms all over the ground.

Giant puff balls on a pine tree. Every needle is coated on all sides with little crystals

A better picture of that bald eagle we saw.