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February 25, 2026 - Clouds Over Nevada
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An atmospheric river triggered a strong winter storm that crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains in late February 2026. The storm raised scant snowpack in the Sierras, and even temporarily closed access to Yosemite National Park. The Northern Sierra snowpack reached 53 percent of its typical snow level on February 22, the Central Sierra reached 73 percent, and the Southern Sierra reported 98 percent of its normal snowpack on that date.
The February stormy weather continued, however, with snow, rain and strong winds moving northeastward on February 24. While snow piled up in Idaho and Wyoming, wild winds created spectacular clouds in Nevada, just south of the center of the ongoing storms.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of clouds over Nevada on February 24.
These clouds appear to be a type of wave cloud, caused by turbulence when air blows over a tall object, such as a mountain. The Sierra Nevada range sits to the west of this image and prevailing wind appears to be generally westward at the time the image was acquired.
These type of clouds typically form when something forces a mass of air upward. The air cools as it rises and, if there is enough moisture in the air, the water condenses and forms clouds. After the air has passed over the obstacle, it typically sinks downward again. The air warms as it descends, preventing clouds from forming. But like ripples on a pond, the initial disturbance creates a propagating wave that continues to spread, causing air to rise and drop again and again until the wave dissipates. The end result is long lines of clouds that mark the crests of the waves, with cloud-free areas between them that correspond to the troughs of the waves.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/24/2026
Resolutions:
1km (403.9 KB), 500m (992.2 KB), 250m (1.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
An atmospheric river triggered a strong winter storm that crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains in late February 2026. The storm raised scant snowpack in the Sierras, and even temporarily closed access to Yosemite National Park. The Northern Sierra snowpack reached 53 percent of its typical snow level on February 22, the Central Sierra reached 73 percent, and the Southern Sierra reported 98 percent of its normal snowpack on that date.
The February stormy weather continued, however, with snow, rain and strong winds moving northeastward on February 24. While snow piled up in Idaho and Wyoming, wild winds created spectacular clouds in Nevada, just south of the center of the ongoing storms.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of clouds over Nevada on February 24.
These clouds appear to be a type of wave cloud, caused by turbulence when air blows over a tall object, such as a mountain. The Sierra Nevada range sits to the west of this image and prevailing wind appears to be generally westward at the time the image was acquired.
These type of clouds typically form when something forces a mass of air upward. The air cools as it rises and, if there is enough moisture in the air, the water condenses and forms clouds. After the air has passed over the obstacle, it typically sinks downward again. The air warms as it descends, preventing clouds from forming. But like ripples on a pond, the initial disturbance creates a propagating wave that continues to spread, causing air to rise and drop again and again until the wave dissipates. The end result is long lines of clouds that mark the crests of the waves, with cloud-free areas between them that correspond to the troughs of the waves.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/24/2026
Resolutions:
1km (403.9 KB), 500m (992.2 KB), 250m (1.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
