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December 16, 2014 - Cloud streets off southeastern United States
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A pattern of unsettled weather stretched across the United States on December 10, 2014. A strong, drenching storm was approaching California and a robust Nor’easter was dropping snow and rain across the northeastern United States. While the Southeastern states escaped the weather excitement, the east-coast storm system helped created dramatic cloud patterns around the region, especially over the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of spectacular clouds at 16:20 UTC (11:20 a.m. EST) on December 10. A heavy bank of clouds, associated with the north-easterly storm system, can be seen over the land to the top left of the image. The skies are clear over much of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The state of Florida has clear skies overhead and is edged with tan and green sediment in the coastal waters. Over the Atlantic (east) and the Gulf of Mexico (west of Florida) heavy cloud banks show an arrangement known as cloud streets.
Cloud streets—long parallel bands of cumulus clouds—form when cold air blows over warmer waters and a warmer air layer (temperature inversion) rests over the top of both. The comparatively warm water gives up heat and moisture to the cold air above, and columns of heated air called thermals naturally rise through the atmosphere. The temperature inversion acts like a lid. When the rising thermals hit it, they roll over and loop back on themselves, creating parallel cylinders of rotating air. As this happens, the moisture cools and condenses into flat-bottomed, fluffy-topped cumulus clouds that line up parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds. When first formed, the streets are close together and often very sharply distinct when viewed from space. As they age and are blown by the wind, they tend to expand and become more indistinct.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 12/10/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A pattern of unsettled weather stretched across the United States on December 10, 2014. A strong, drenching storm was approaching California and a robust Nor’easter was dropping snow and rain across the northeastern United States. While the Southeastern states escaped the weather excitement, the east-coast storm system helped created dramatic cloud patterns around the region, especially over the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of spectacular clouds at 16:20 UTC (11:20 a.m. EST) on December 10. A heavy bank of clouds, associated with the north-easterly storm system, can be seen over the land to the top left of the image. The skies are clear over much of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. The state of Florida has clear skies overhead and is edged with tan and green sediment in the coastal waters. Over the Atlantic (east) and the Gulf of Mexico (west of Florida) heavy cloud banks show an arrangement known as cloud streets.
Cloud streets—long parallel bands of cumulus clouds—form when cold air blows over warmer waters and a warmer air layer (temperature inversion) rests over the top of both. The comparatively warm water gives up heat and moisture to the cold air above, and columns of heated air called thermals naturally rise through the atmosphere. The temperature inversion acts like a lid. When the rising thermals hit it, they roll over and loop back on themselves, creating parallel cylinders of rotating air. As this happens, the moisture cools and condenses into flat-bottomed, fluffy-topped cumulus clouds that line up parallel to the direction of the prevailing winds. When first formed, the streets are close together and often very sharply distinct when viewed from space. As they age and are blown by the wind, they tend to expand and become more indistinct.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 12/10/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
