Images
January 25, 2011 - Snow across the central United States
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A cross-country snowstorm blew across the United States in early 2011, leaving a trail of white across the continent. The storm began on January 19, blanketing the central Plains states with a few inches to over a foot of snow, then dropped snow in the Ohio Valley and as far south as Oklahoma and Arkansas. By January 22, the storm passed over New England, laying an additional six inches or more of winter precipitation over already heavy accumulations in many areas. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the Central United States on January 20, 2011.
Along with the snowfall came a bitter Arctic front which crossed the Midwest during this time, bringing the coldest weather of the season so far to much of the United States. This one-two punch of bitter cold and accumulating snow caused slick roads, car accidents, and airport delays along the entire track of the storm.
In this image, snow can be seen decorating the land of seven central states: Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Colorado sits in the left central part of the image, marked by the Rocky Mountains running from north to south across the state. The western slope of the Rockies are bright white, indicating a heavy snow cover, while the Front Range, or the eastern slope, still appears green in most areas, indicating relatively little snow.
Denver can be seen as a gray circle to the east of the Front Range just to the north of center of the state. Pueblo is a small gray splotch on the Arkansas River, which runs eastward in the south of the state. The South Platte River can be seen as a line etched in the snowfield of the Great Plains in the north. The brown patches in the snow cover of the plains immediately to the east of the Rockies indicate the disruption of the prevailing wind patterns caused by the high mountain peaks.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/20/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A cross-country snowstorm blew across the United States in early 2011, leaving a trail of white across the continent. The storm began on January 19, blanketing the central Plains states with a few inches to over a foot of snow, then dropped snow in the Ohio Valley and as far south as Oklahoma and Arkansas. By January 22, the storm passed over New England, laying an additional six inches or more of winter precipitation over already heavy accumulations in many areas. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the Central United States on January 20, 2011.
Along with the snowfall came a bitter Arctic front which crossed the Midwest during this time, bringing the coldest weather of the season so far to much of the United States. This one-two punch of bitter cold and accumulating snow caused slick roads, car accidents, and airport delays along the entire track of the storm.
In this image, snow can be seen decorating the land of seven central states: Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. Colorado sits in the left central part of the image, marked by the Rocky Mountains running from north to south across the state. The western slope of the Rockies are bright white, indicating a heavy snow cover, while the Front Range, or the eastern slope, still appears green in most areas, indicating relatively little snow.
Denver can be seen as a gray circle to the east of the Front Range just to the north of center of the state. Pueblo is a small gray splotch on the Arkansas River, which runs eastward in the south of the state. The South Platte River can be seen as a line etched in the snowfield of the Great Plains in the north. The brown patches in the snow cover of the plains immediately to the east of the Rockies indicate the disruption of the prevailing wind patterns caused by the high mountain peaks.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/20/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
