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January 4, 2022 - Snow in the Midwest
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A ferocious winter storm system swept across the United States in the opening days of 2022. After dumping rain and snow in the western states, the storm took aim at the Midwest on January 1 before striking the Mid-Atlantic on January 3.
The New Year’s Day storm laid down six inches (15.3 cm) of snow in the Chicago region, marking only the sixth January 1st that has seen more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) of snow in that city since 1884. According to AccuWeather, Chicago finished December with temperatures averaging 7.5 degrees above the normal of 31.5 degrees and in sixth place on the all-time list of warm Decembers that dates back to the mid-1800s. The storm system brought a dramatic end to the warm winter, dropping the high in Chicago to only January 1 to only 33˚F (0.5˚C). On January 3, highs in that city registered only 23˚F (-5˚C) with similar temperatures expected all week.
High snowfall and low temperatures were also the story across most of the Midwest on January 1. AccuWeather reports that Oklahoma City, which had roasted under the warmest December on record (average temperature 50.7˚F) shivered under a high of 28˚F (-2.2˚C) by January 2. In Hays, Kansas, the first day of 2022 brought up to 8 inches of new-fallen snow while, according to the National Weather Service, winds chills that dropped the air temperature to -26˚F (-32.2˚F) in that state.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of the fresh snow across the Midwestern United States on January 2. This type of image uses MODIS bands 7,2,1 to help separate snow from cloud. Here, snow appears electric blue while vegetation looks green and open land appears tan or brown. Cloud appears white, although some high cloud that contains copious amounts of ice crystals will take on a light blue tint. Snow can be seen across all or part of the following states (from the north, moving west to east): Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, northern New Mexico, northern Texas, and northwestern Oklahoma.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/2/2022
Resolutions:
1km (516.7 KB), 500m (2.1 MB), 250m (7 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A ferocious winter storm system swept across the United States in the opening days of 2022. After dumping rain and snow in the western states, the storm took aim at the Midwest on January 1 before striking the Mid-Atlantic on January 3.
The New Year’s Day storm laid down six inches (15.3 cm) of snow in the Chicago region, marking only the sixth January 1st that has seen more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) of snow in that city since 1884. According to AccuWeather, Chicago finished December with temperatures averaging 7.5 degrees above the normal of 31.5 degrees and in sixth place on the all-time list of warm Decembers that dates back to the mid-1800s. The storm system brought a dramatic end to the warm winter, dropping the high in Chicago to only January 1 to only 33˚F (0.5˚C). On January 3, highs in that city registered only 23˚F (-5˚C) with similar temperatures expected all week.
High snowfall and low temperatures were also the story across most of the Midwest on January 1. AccuWeather reports that Oklahoma City, which had roasted under the warmest December on record (average temperature 50.7˚F) shivered under a high of 28˚F (-2.2˚C) by January 2. In Hays, Kansas, the first day of 2022 brought up to 8 inches of new-fallen snow while, according to the National Weather Service, winds chills that dropped the air temperature to -26˚F (-32.2˚F) in that state.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of the fresh snow across the Midwestern United States on January 2. This type of image uses MODIS bands 7,2,1 to help separate snow from cloud. Here, snow appears electric blue while vegetation looks green and open land appears tan or brown. Cloud appears white, although some high cloud that contains copious amounts of ice crystals will take on a light blue tint. Snow can be seen across all or part of the following states (from the north, moving west to east): Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, northern New Mexico, northern Texas, and northwestern Oklahoma.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/2/2022
Resolutions:
1km (516.7 KB), 500m (2.1 MB), 250m (7 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
