Severe Snowstorm in Lesotho

  • Credit

    Image by Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC

A severe storm dumped several feet of snow in the Drakensberg Mountains of Lesotho and Republic of South Africa over the weekend of July 20, 2002, and was resposible for the deaths of at least 20 people.

Some snow isn't an unexpected occurrence in the mountainous terrain of the small country of Lesotho, a small, roughly circular country located between Free State Province and Eastern Cape Province in the Republic of South Africa. But over the weekend of July 20, 2002, a severe snow storm dumped several feet of snow in the Drakensbueg Mountains, and turned many parts of the country into disaster areas.

According to news reports, at least 22 people died and many more were stranded in mountain towns and camping areas, often without fuel or electricity, or food and water.

This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on July 25, 2002.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    ADEOS/ADEOS

  • Start Date

    2002-07-25

  • Event Start Date

    2002-07-02

  • NH Image ID

    4642

  • NH Event ID

    4617

  • NH Posting Date

    2002-07-26