Snowstorm Rolls Across the U.S.

The winter of 2002-03 has seen a number of severe winter storms roll across the central United States, leaving a wide swaths of snow from the southern Great Plains region all the way to the east coast. This latest MODIS scene was acquired on Jan. 23, 2003.

Another blast of cold temperatures, brisk winds and snow blanketed portions of the Midwest and South on January 22 and 23, 2003. Up to 12 inches of snow fell in portions of the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Virginia. In fact, the Outer Banks of North Carolina saw their first significant snowfall in thirteen years as 40 mph winds created snowdrifts instead of the usual sand dunes. Widespread record-setting lows were reported in many southern states while wind chills dipped well below zero.

This false-color image was acquired on Jan. 23 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. Blue hues indicate snow-coverd land and white areas are clouds. The high-resolution image available here is 500 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Aqua/MODIS

  • Start Date

    2003-01-23

  • Event Start Date

    2002-12-24

  • NH Image ID

    5366

  • NH Event ID

    5192

  • NH Posting Date

    2003-01-24