Images
November 11, 2025 - Lake Effect Snow Around the Great Lakes
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A sweeping Arctic blast brought snow and frigid temperatures far south into the United States in early November 2025. Snow flurries were seen as far south as Nashville, Tennessee, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on November 10, according to news reports. Forecasters even warned of the possibility of “falling iguanas” in northern and central Florida as temperatures were expected to fall into the low 30s or high 20s overnight. Iguanas, which are reptiles living wild in Florida, go into a trance-like state of torpor when air temperature drops that low, potentially making them unable to stay upright or hang onto vegetation. The torpor is harmless and reversible—as temperatures return to normal, so do the iguanas.
Furthern north, more than a foot of snow landed on parts of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan on November 10. The National Weather Service reported that snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour accompanied the most intense snow bands, particularly in parts of Lake County, Indiana, and Kankakee and Lake Counties in Illinois. Thundersnow was reported near Lake Michigan early in the morning.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of fresh, heavy snow around the Great Lakes on November 10. In this type of image, snow appears bright electric blue, vegetation looks bright green, and water shows up as dark blue. Clouds are typically white but high, cold clouds that contain ice may be tinted with electric blue and clouds carrying substantial snow may look similar to snow that lays across the land.
This image shows heavy snow laying across northern and eastern Illinois, most of Indiana, and western Ohio. To the north of this tier of states, Michigan shows little snow in the north of the state with a bit more draped across southern Michigan. A bright blue streak of cloud covers portions of Lake Michigan (west), indicating an active snowstorm in progress. White clouds, lined in parallel bands, indicate very cold air blowing over Lake Huron (north) and, to a lesser extent, Lake Erie (east).
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/10/2025
Resolutions:
1km (442.9 KB), 500m (1 MB), 250m (1.5 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A sweeping Arctic blast brought snow and frigid temperatures far south into the United States in early November 2025. Snow flurries were seen as far south as Nashville, Tennessee, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on November 10, according to news reports. Forecasters even warned of the possibility of “falling iguanas” in northern and central Florida as temperatures were expected to fall into the low 30s or high 20s overnight. Iguanas, which are reptiles living wild in Florida, go into a trance-like state of torpor when air temperature drops that low, potentially making them unable to stay upright or hang onto vegetation. The torpor is harmless and reversible—as temperatures return to normal, so do the iguanas.
Furthern north, more than a foot of snow landed on parts of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan on November 10. The National Weather Service reported that snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour accompanied the most intense snow bands, particularly in parts of Lake County, Indiana, and Kankakee and Lake Counties in Illinois. Thundersnow was reported near Lake Michigan early in the morning.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this false-color image of fresh, heavy snow around the Great Lakes on November 10. In this type of image, snow appears bright electric blue, vegetation looks bright green, and water shows up as dark blue. Clouds are typically white but high, cold clouds that contain ice may be tinted with electric blue and clouds carrying substantial snow may look similar to snow that lays across the land.
This image shows heavy snow laying across northern and eastern Illinois, most of Indiana, and western Ohio. To the north of this tier of states, Michigan shows little snow in the north of the state with a bit more draped across southern Michigan. A bright blue streak of cloud covers portions of Lake Michigan (west), indicating an active snowstorm in progress. White clouds, lined in parallel bands, indicate very cold air blowing over Lake Huron (north) and, to a lesser extent, Lake Erie (east).
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 11/10/2025
Resolutions:
1km (442.9 KB), 500m (1 MB), 250m (1.5 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
