Uploads from NASA Goddard Photo and Video, tagged weather

Suomi NPP Satellite Views of Tropical Cyclone Mahasen in the Northern Indian Ocean

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:11:39 -0700

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

The first tropical cyclone in the Northern Indian Ocean this season has been getting better organized as seen in NASA satellite imagery. Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is projected to track north through the Bay of Bengal and make landfall later this week. On May 13, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured various night-time and day-time imagery that showed
Mesospheric Gravity Waves, lightning, and heavy rainfall in false-colored imagery.

For more information and updates on Cyclone Mahasen, visit NASA's Hurricane page at www.nasa.gov/hurricane.

Image Credit: UWM-CIMSS/William Straka III/NASA/NOAA
Text Credit: NASA Goddard/Rob Gutro

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Satellite Sees Powerful Nor'easter and Front in Eastern U.S. [video]

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 11:28:57 -0700

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a video:

This animation of NOAA GOES-13 satellite imagery from March 7 to March 13, 2013, shows the progression the coastal low pressure area that merged with a cold front near the Mid-Atlantic and brought more than 18" of snow from western north Virginia and western Maryland into Pennsylvania, while coastal areas and cities including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore received snow followed by heavy rain. The low affected New England on March 7 dropping as much as 2 feet of snow in areas then slowly moved east into the Atlantic, while another cold front swept through the Mid-Atlantic on March 11 and 12. Link to full story about the March 7 Nor'easter: www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/mar13-noreaster.html

Image Credit: NASA GOES Project

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Cyclone Haruna Near Madagascar at Night

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:56:42 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

This night-time image revealed Cyclone Haruna's massive eye before it made landfall in southwestern Madagascar. This image was taken from the VIIRS instrument that flies aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. The image was taken on Feb. 20 at 2242 UTC (5:42 p.m. EST/U.S.) and shows a clear eye, surrounded by very powerful thunderstorms. The bright lights of the Capital city of Antananarivo are seen in this image. The capital city lies about 300 nautical miles northwest of the storm's center. Haruna's center made landfall near Manombo, Madagascar around 0600 UTC (1 a.m. EST/U.S.) and its eye became cloud-filled quickly. For the entire storm history, visit NASA's Hurricane Page: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...

Text:
Credit: Univ.of Wisconsin/NASA/NOAA

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Major Winter Storm Marches Across Central U.S.

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:32:07 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NOAA's GOES-13 satellite has been seeing a lot of active winter weather on Feb. 21 from its fixed position over the eastern U.S.

NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-13) captured an image of the cloud cover associated with the winter storm that is bringing snow across much of the central part of the country today, Feb. 21, 2013. The storm is dropping heavy snows, as much as one foot, over a large area of the central Plains states, according to the National Weather Service. The same system is also creating a wintry mix through parts of the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys.

Further south, two other low pressure areas in eastern New Mexico and northern Texas are stirring up some severe weather today. An occluded front stretches southeastward from the low, and out over the Gulf of Mexico. That occluded front is expected to move north as a warm front on Friday and bring a wintry mix of precipitation on Friday to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S., followed by rain for the beginning of the weekend, according to NOAA's Meteorological Prediction Center.

GOES is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The image was created by NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Rob Gutro
Goddard Space Flight Center

Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

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Eddy off the coast of southern California

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 05:46:05 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NASA's Aqua MODIS captured this true-color image showing the development of a mesoscale eddy immediately downwind of San Clemente Island off the coast of southern California on February 17, 2013.

The eddy was helping to push the marine boundary layer farther inland, bringing stratus clouds and cooler temperatures to some coastal locations.

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Snow in New England

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 07:50:23 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

A powerful winter storm left New Englanders digging out from heavy snow in early February 2013. According to unofficial totals released by the National Weather Service, snowfall totaled up to 33.5 inches (85 centimeters) in Connecticut, 31.0 inches (79 centimeters) in Massachusetts, and 30.4 inches (77 centimeters) in New Hampshire.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on February 10, 2013. Through a partial veil of thin clouds, MODIS could detect snow cover stretching from the East Coast westward past Lake Ontario.

In addition to heavy snowfall, the storm also brought strong winds. Unofficial spotter reports from the National Weather Service listed gusts up to 83 miles (134 kilometers) per hour along the Massachusetts coast.

References
National Weather Service. (2013, February 10) Public Information Statement: Spotter Reports. Accessed February 11, 2013.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: Terra - MODIS

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 1.usa.gov/VUB1K4

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NASA Satellite Sees Powerful Winter Nor'easter

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 07:19:31 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

A massive winter storm was coming together as two low pressure systems were merging over the U.S. East Coast. This composite satellite image from NASA's Aqua satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

The visible image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The image shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

Image: NASA/MODIS

Caption: NASA Goddard/Rob Gutro

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Powerful Winter Storm in the Making [video]

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:03:17 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a video:

A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. An animation of satellite imagery from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite from Feb. 6 to Feb. 8 shows the two systems headed for a collision off the mid-Atlantic Coast.

Credit: NASA GOES Project

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Powerful U.S. Winter Nor'easter Coming Together

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 07:13:44 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

A massive winter storm is coming together as two low pressure systems are merging over the U.S. East Coast. A satellite image from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Feb. 8 shows a western frontal system approaching the coastal low pressure area.

The visible image was captured by NOAA's GOES-13 satellite on Friday, Feb. 8, 1401 UTC (9:01 a.m. EST), and created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The image shows clouds associated with the western frontal system stretching from Canada through the Ohio and Tennessee valleys, into the Gulf of Mexico. The comma-shaped low pressure system located over the Atlantic, east of Virginia, is forecast to merge with the front and create a powerful nor'easter. The National Weather Service expects the merged storm to move northeast and drop between two to three feet of snow in parts of New England.

Image: NASA GOES Project Caption: NASA Goddard/Rob Gutro

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:47:26 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this false-colored night-time image of Cyclone Felleng during the night on Jan. 28, 2013. Felleng is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, and is northwest of Madagascar. The image revealed some pretty cold overshooting tops, topping at ~170K. The image shows some interesting gravity waves propagating out from the storm in both the thermal and visible imagery.

For full storm history on NASA's Hurricane Web Page, visit: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/archives/2013/h2013...

Credit: William Straka, UWM/NASA/NOAA

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:47:29 -0800

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:48:34 -0800

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NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:47:39 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:47:37 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite Captures Night-time Look at Cyclone Felleng

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:47:32 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

Satellite Image Shows Eastern U.S. Severe Weather System

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:01:35 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

A powerful cold front moving from the central United States to the East Coast is wiping out spring-like temperatures and replacing them with winter-time temperatures with powerful storms in between. An image released from NASA using data from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite provides a stunning look at the powerful system that brings a return to winter weather in its wake.

On Jan. 30 at 1825 UTC (1:25 p.m. EST), NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of clouds associated with the strong cold front. The visible GOES-13 image shows a line of clouds that stretch from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and contain powerful thunderstorms with the potential to be severe. The front is moving east to the Atlantic Ocean.

NOAA's GOES-13 satellite continually provides real-time visible and infrared imagery of weather over the eastern United States. The NASA GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., created the image from GOES data. The colorized image uses GOES-13 satellite visible data of clouds, and is overlaid on a U.S. map created by imagery from the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer instrument (MODIS), an instrument that flies aboard both the NASA Aqua and Terra satellites.

NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Okla., warned of the risk of severe weather on Jan. 30, stretching from the upper Ohio Valley southward to the central Gulf Coast and eastward to the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S. coast. According to SPC, the main threat will be damaging wind along with the possibility of tornadoes, especially across eastern Alabama into western Georgia.

Early on Jan. 30, officials in Tennessee and Georgia already reported damages from severe storms as the squall line rolled through.

At noon EST on Jan. 30, severe thunderstorm watches were issued by the SPC for several states. The watches include: the western Maryland panhandle, southeast Ohio, southwest Pennsylvania, western Virginia and West Virginia.

This same storm system brought severe weather to the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The storm system has already brought great changes to the Midwest, where Chicago experienced highs in the 60s (F) earlier in the week and today, Jan. 30, is only near 40 F. Chicago is also expecting snow later today and by tomorrow night, Jan. 31, wind chills at night are expected to drop to 10 F to 20 F below zero.

Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project

Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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Snow across the mid-Atlantic United States

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:42:34 -0800

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Snow across the mid-Atlantic United States captured by the Terra/MODIS satellite on January 18, 2013 at 15:45 UTC.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team

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Southern Greenland

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:37:52 -0800

NASA Goddard Photo and Video posted a photo:

NASA's Aqua satellite observed swirls of sea ice along the coast of Greenland on December 30, 2012.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team

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Rocky Mountain Snow

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:56:46 -0800

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NASA image acquired December 19, 2012

In time for the 2012 winter solstice, a storm dropped snow over most of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. On December 20, the National Weather Service reported snow depths exceeding 100 centimeters (39 inches) in some places—the result of the recent snowfall plus accumulation from earlier storms.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on December 19, 2012. Clouds had mostly cleared from the region, though some cloud cover lingered over parts of the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. Showing more distinct contours than the clouds, the snow cover stretched across the Rocky Mountains and the surrounding region, from Idaho to Arizona and from California to Colorado.

Snowfall did not stop in Colorado, as the storm continued moving eastward across the Midwest. By December 20, 2012, a combination of heavy snow and strong winds had closed schools, iced roads, and delayed flights, complicating plans for holiday travelers.

Though troublesome for travel, the snow brought much-needed moisture; multiple cities had set new records for consecutive days without measurable snow, CBS news reported. As of December 18, the U.S. Drought Monitor stated that a substantial portion of the continental United States continued to suffer from drought, and “exceptional” drought conditions extended from South Dakota to southern Texas.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

To read more go to: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80035

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

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Criss-Crossing Contrails

nobody@flickr.com (NASA Goddard Photo and Video) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:08:15 -0800

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The condensation trails that form behind high-altitude aircraft, or contrails, are one of the most visible signs of the human impact on the atmosphere. On February 15, 2013, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of numerous contrails over Portugal and Spain.

The composition of these long, narrow clouds is virtually identical to naturally-forming cirrus clouds. However, while naturally high levels of humidity cause the clouds, contrails form when airplanes inject extra water vapor into the atmosphere through their exhaust. In order for contrails to develop, air temperatures must be -39°C (-38°F) or below.

The humidity of the air affects how long contrails last. When air is dry, contrails last just seconds or minutes. But when the air is humid, contrails can be long-lived and spread outward until they become difficult to distinguish from naturally occurring cirrus clouds. Satellites have observed clusters of contrails lasting as long as 14 hours and traveling for thousands of kilometers before dissipating; however, most remain visible for only a few hours.

Contrails have an impact on climate. Long-lived, spreading contrails like the ones shown here are of particular interest to researchers because they reflect sunlight and trap infrared radiation. A contrail in an otherwise clear sky reduces the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth’s surface, while increasing the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere. These opposing effects make it difficult to sort out the overall impact on climate.

However, a group of scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center have made progress. They have developed a computer algorithm that searches through data from MODIS and automatically distinguishes between natural cirrus clouds and young- to medium-aged contrails. This has made it easier to estimate how much contrails contribute to overall cirrus and cloud coverage. In a study published in 2013, the group estimated that contrails cover between 0.07 percent to 0.40 percent of the sky in a given year. They also concluded that contrails produce a slight net warming effect on the Earth.

There are still problems the researchers are working to solve. “Detecting the older, wider contrails, like many of those in this MODIS image, remains a challenge and we are still unable to estimate their coverage and impact on climate as well as we would like,” noted Patrick Minnis, a NASA Langley scientist.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Adam Voiland, with information from Patrick Minnis and Douglas Spangenberg.

Instrument: Terra - MODIS

More info: 1.usa.gov/YIW2bf

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

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