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July 18, 2024 - Snow Gathers on the Southern Alps
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A high-pressure system over New Zealand kept the clouds away and the sun shining on the gorgeous winter colors of South Island in mid-July 2024. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the bright morning on July 16.
Snow topped the Southern Alps, which are the rugged mountain chain that extends for about 400 miles (650 kilometers) along the western side of South Island. The snowpack is still thin, relative to deep winter averages, after a mild and mostly dry June. The first week of July brought fresh snow along with dropping temperatures, which made conditions perfect for ski resorts to top off the fresh fall with artificial snow. According to Mountain Watch, “A significant low from the Southern Ocean got the season’s ski-tips pointing straight down the mountain at the start of July though, with some 30-50cm of fresh snow racking up for most of the resorts”.
Along with snowy peaks, several large valleys of the Southern Alps are filled with low cloud (fog). Fog appears tinted slightly tan in this image and has a ground-glass appearance compared to the sharp, crisp white of the highly reflective snow. It’s also interesting to compare the appearance of the fog with the clouds over the ocean. The minor color differences are primarily due to reflectivity, with the sunlight reflecting off of the smooth surface of the snow making it appear much brighter than any of the uneven surfaces of the clouds.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/11/2024
Resolutions:
1km (433.8 KB), 500m (1.2 MB), 250m (2.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A high-pressure system over New Zealand kept the clouds away and the sun shining on the gorgeous winter colors of South Island in mid-July 2024. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the bright morning on July 16.
Snow topped the Southern Alps, which are the rugged mountain chain that extends for about 400 miles (650 kilometers) along the western side of South Island. The snowpack is still thin, relative to deep winter averages, after a mild and mostly dry June. The first week of July brought fresh snow along with dropping temperatures, which made conditions perfect for ski resorts to top off the fresh fall with artificial snow. According to Mountain Watch, “A significant low from the Southern Ocean got the season’s ski-tips pointing straight down the mountain at the start of July though, with some 30-50cm of fresh snow racking up for most of the resorts”.
Along with snowy peaks, several large valleys of the Southern Alps are filled with low cloud (fog). Fog appears tinted slightly tan in this image and has a ground-glass appearance compared to the sharp, crisp white of the highly reflective snow. It’s also interesting to compare the appearance of the fog with the clouds over the ocean. The minor color differences are primarily due to reflectivity, with the sunlight reflecting off of the smooth surface of the snow making it appear much brighter than any of the uneven surfaces of the clouds.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/11/2024
Resolutions:
1km (433.8 KB), 500m (1.2 MB), 250m (2.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
