Images
February 12, 2026 - Storm-associated Clouds Over Morocco
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Northern Morocco reeled under flooding triggered by Storm Marta in early February 2026. The winter storm, which was the result of an atmospheric river that stretched from the Caribbean Sea to Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, first struck Morocco, Spain, and Portugal on February 8 then stalled over the region. The lingering effects were attributed to a southward-shifted jet stream, which locked the remnants of the storm in place. Storm Marta was the third in a series of rain-and-snow-loaded winter storms that drenched northern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula since the start of 2026.
Multiple media reports described severe damage from the series of storms, including at least four deaths in Morocco alone. Images of cars floating in roads in northern Morocco illustrated the deadly impact of flash flooding. In Spain, reports of tremors felt in the Earth in a mountainous region sparked speculation of potential landslides to come, while early damage assessments suggested that Marta would be responsible for millions of dollars of damage to crops. Despite widespread impacts in northern Morocco, the winter storms left a glimmer of a silver lining, having filled reservoirs and relieved a longstanding drought in that country.
Skies cleared over most of northern Morocco by February 10, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the region. A close look shows reservoirs filled to the brim, but even a cursory look shows spectacular cloud formations.
A bank of marine stratocumulus clouds cover the Atlantic Ocean just offshore of northern Morocco, and these are streaked with contrails. Marine stratocumulus frequently form in this location and are normal cloud formations. A contrail is simply the condensation trail that is left behind by a passing jet plane. They form when hot humid air from jet exhaust mixes with environmental air of low vapor pressure and low temperature, creating a bright cloud. They most often are seen in otherwise clear skies, but can also be seen within other cloud formations, as illustrated here.
In the southwestern (lower left) section of the image, cloud extends from the Atlantic Ocean over land. This is a bank of fog, which is simply low cloud (cloud that lies close to the ground). Morning fog frequently forms over coastal regions, especially when a bank of stratocumulus clouds cover nearby ocean. Bright white snow covers the Atlas Mountains.
A more unusual type of cloud can be seen over the land of northern Morocco. These wispy, streak-like, roughly parallel clouds appear to be “transverse cirrus bands”. These formations are most often associated with intense weather on the edge of a storm or a front. They are typically observed at the edge of large thunderstorm systems, perpendicular to a jet stream, or even along the perimeter of cyclones. In this case, these transverse cirrus bands are most likely associated with the stalled remnants of Storm Marta and the southerly-pushing jet stream, just to the north of the image.
Transverse cirrus bands are also markers of clear air turbulence—which can be quite hazardous to aircraft. Clear air turbulence is difficult to detect, but transverse cirrus bands could potentially be a clue to its presence. The combination of transverse cirrus bands covering a wide area of northern Morocco and multiple contrails to the west of that area may suggest that pilots were directing aircraft westward to avoid the dangerous turbulence caused by the lingering, intense storm and southward-shifted jet stream.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/10/2026
Resolutions:
1km (304 KB), 500m (793.9 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Northern Morocco reeled under flooding triggered by Storm Marta in early February 2026. The winter storm, which was the result of an atmospheric river that stretched from the Caribbean Sea to Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, first struck Morocco, Spain, and Portugal on February 8 then stalled over the region. The lingering effects were attributed to a southward-shifted jet stream, which locked the remnants of the storm in place. Storm Marta was the third in a series of rain-and-snow-loaded winter storms that drenched northern Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula since the start of 2026.
Multiple media reports described severe damage from the series of storms, including at least four deaths in Morocco alone. Images of cars floating in roads in northern Morocco illustrated the deadly impact of flash flooding. In Spain, reports of tremors felt in the Earth in a mountainous region sparked speculation of potential landslides to come, while early damage assessments suggested that Marta would be responsible for millions of dollars of damage to crops. Despite widespread impacts in northern Morocco, the winter storms left a glimmer of a silver lining, having filled reservoirs and relieved a longstanding drought in that country.
Skies cleared over most of northern Morocco by February 10, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the region. A close look shows reservoirs filled to the brim, but even a cursory look shows spectacular cloud formations.
A bank of marine stratocumulus clouds cover the Atlantic Ocean just offshore of northern Morocco, and these are streaked with contrails. Marine stratocumulus frequently form in this location and are normal cloud formations. A contrail is simply the condensation trail that is left behind by a passing jet plane. They form when hot humid air from jet exhaust mixes with environmental air of low vapor pressure and low temperature, creating a bright cloud. They most often are seen in otherwise clear skies, but can also be seen within other cloud formations, as illustrated here.
In the southwestern (lower left) section of the image, cloud extends from the Atlantic Ocean over land. This is a bank of fog, which is simply low cloud (cloud that lies close to the ground). Morning fog frequently forms over coastal regions, especially when a bank of stratocumulus clouds cover nearby ocean. Bright white snow covers the Atlas Mountains.
A more unusual type of cloud can be seen over the land of northern Morocco. These wispy, streak-like, roughly parallel clouds appear to be “transverse cirrus bands”. These formations are most often associated with intense weather on the edge of a storm or a front. They are typically observed at the edge of large thunderstorm systems, perpendicular to a jet stream, or even along the perimeter of cyclones. In this case, these transverse cirrus bands are most likely associated with the stalled remnants of Storm Marta and the southerly-pushing jet stream, just to the north of the image.
Transverse cirrus bands are also markers of clear air turbulence—which can be quite hazardous to aircraft. Clear air turbulence is difficult to detect, but transverse cirrus bands could potentially be a clue to its presence. The combination of transverse cirrus bands covering a wide area of northern Morocco and multiple contrails to the west of that area may suggest that pilots were directing aircraft westward to avoid the dangerous turbulence caused by the lingering, intense storm and southward-shifted jet stream.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/10/2026
Resolutions:
1km (304 KB), 500m (793.9 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
