Images
December 11, 2025 - A Winter Scene Across Eastern Canada and Northeastern U.S.
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A fierce Arctic blast created a winter-like scene in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States in early December 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the region on December 9.
Snow blanketed the ground across Canada and appeared especially heavy on the eastern banks of the St. Lawrence River and between the cities of Quebec and Montreal, both sited along the southern St. Lawrence. A lighter blanket of snow covers New Brunswick, Canada as well as the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern Massachusetts. Cloud, likely bringing additional snow, covers the landscape west of the St. Lawrence River and New York state’s Adirondacks.
A notable feature—and one that speaks to frigid temperatures across the region—is the cloud formation over the Atlantic Ocean. These parallel rows of cumulus cloud are called “cloud streets” and are formed when cold, dry air blows off a land mass and over relatively warm and moist water. The water gives up heat and moisture to the cold air above and columns of warmed air rise, and, as the air cools, the moisture helps form cloud. The cooler air then begins to fall, and the clouds disappear in the falling thermal. The rising and falling creates rows of cloud-and-clear that, to some, looks like lines of cars stacked up on a busy street.
Cloud streets line up along with the prevailing wind. In this image, the wind blows off the coast of Maine then drops slightly south before making an arc to the northeast then southward, where the streets expand into a bank of cumulus cloud. Portland, Maine recorded low temperatures of -3°F (-16°C) in the early morning hours of December 9. Although the sun had risen by the time this image was captured, causing the temperatures to rise above the morning low, the air was still plenty cold enough to create cloud streets over the Atlantic.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 12/9/2025
Resolutions:
1km (713 KB), 500m (2.2 MB), 250m (4.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A fierce Arctic blast created a winter-like scene in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States in early December 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the region on December 9.
Snow blanketed the ground across Canada and appeared especially heavy on the eastern banks of the St. Lawrence River and between the cities of Quebec and Montreal, both sited along the southern St. Lawrence. A lighter blanket of snow covers New Brunswick, Canada as well as the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and northern Massachusetts. Cloud, likely bringing additional snow, covers the landscape west of the St. Lawrence River and New York state’s Adirondacks.
A notable feature—and one that speaks to frigid temperatures across the region—is the cloud formation over the Atlantic Ocean. These parallel rows of cumulus cloud are called “cloud streets” and are formed when cold, dry air blows off a land mass and over relatively warm and moist water. The water gives up heat and moisture to the cold air above and columns of warmed air rise, and, as the air cools, the moisture helps form cloud. The cooler air then begins to fall, and the clouds disappear in the falling thermal. The rising and falling creates rows of cloud-and-clear that, to some, looks like lines of cars stacked up on a busy street.
Cloud streets line up along with the prevailing wind. In this image, the wind blows off the coast of Maine then drops slightly south before making an arc to the northeast then southward, where the streets expand into a bank of cumulus cloud. Portland, Maine recorded low temperatures of -3°F (-16°C) in the early morning hours of December 9. Although the sun had risen by the time this image was captured, causing the temperatures to rise above the morning low, the air was still plenty cold enough to create cloud streets over the Atlantic.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 12/9/2025
Resolutions:
1km (713 KB), 500m (2.2 MB), 250m (4.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
