Blowing snow in southern Manitoba and the Red River Valley

By Scott Bachmeier • 15 January 2019

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice (1.61 µm, right) images, with hourly plots of surface wind and weather type [click to play animation | MP4]

A comparison of GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images (above) revealed plumes of blowing snow originating over northern Lake Winnipeg and southern Lake Manitoba, lofted by strong northerly winds in the wake of a cold frontal passage. The blowing snow originating over the southern portion of Lake Manitoba was then then channeled southward into the Red River Valley (topography), with horizontal convective roll clouds eventually developing.

In a sequence of MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Snow/Ice (1.61 µm) images from Terra and Aqua in addition to VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Snow/Ice (1.61 µm) from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP (below), the plumes of blowing snow were also easier to detect in the Snow/Ice images (due to better contrast against the existing snow cover).

MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Snow/Ice (1.61 µm) images from Terra and Aqua plus VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Snow/Ice (1.61 µm) from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to enlarge]

A closer view of the Lake Manitoba plume is shown below; surface observations indicated that visibility was reduced to 1/4 statute mile at locations such as Calilier ND (plot | text) and Hallock MN (plot | text).

NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP VIIRS Snow/Ice (1.61 µm) images, with plots of surface observations [click to enlarge]

An Aqua MODIS True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image centered on Winnipeg, Manitoba (source) is shown below.

Aqua MODIS True Color image [click to enlarge]

Toggles between 250-meter resolution Terra/Aqua MODIS True Color and False Color RGB images (centered between Lake Manitoba and the North Dakota border) from the MODIS Today site (below) provided a more detailed view of the blowing snow streaming southeastward from Lake Manitoba into far northeastern North Dakota and far northwestern Minnesota.