Images
June 17, 2026 - Clouds Around the Canary Islands
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Clouds, dust, and wind combined to create this beautiful scene around the Canary Islands on June 14, 2026, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
The Canary Islands sit just off the northwestern coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. With the nearest island only 67 miles (108 km) off of the African mainland, the Canaries are often covered by airborne dust blown westward from the Sahara Desert. This images shows such a Saharan dust storm over the African coast as well as around the Canary Islands.
Dramatic swirling patterns in the clouds mark turbulence as air flows around the tall volcanic islands. Known as von Kármán vortices, the swirls form on the lee side of the islands, which is the side that is behind the flow of the prevailing wind. They are a frequent atmospheric phenomenon in this region, where both steady trade winds and a broad cover of clouds are common.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/14/2026
Resolutions:
1km (639.4 KB), 500m (1.6 MB), 250m (2.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Clouds, dust, and wind combined to create this beautiful scene around the Canary Islands on June 14, 2026, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image.
The Canary Islands sit just off the northwestern coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. With the nearest island only 67 miles (108 km) off of the African mainland, the Canaries are often covered by airborne dust blown westward from the Sahara Desert. This images shows such a Saharan dust storm over the African coast as well as around the Canary Islands.
Dramatic swirling patterns in the clouds mark turbulence as air flows around the tall volcanic islands. Known as von Kármán vortices, the swirls form on the lee side of the islands, which is the side that is behind the flow of the prevailing wind. They are a frequent atmospheric phenomenon in this region, where both steady trade winds and a broad cover of clouds are common.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 6/14/2026
Resolutions:
1km (639.4 KB), 500m (1.6 MB), 250m (2.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
