A series of Terra and Aqua MODIS “true color” images (Java animation) shows the transition from a dismal “brown Christmas” in December 2006 (above; December had an average monthly temperature of 30.5º F, or 7.5º F above normal)…to snow cover in mid-January 2007 (3-inch snow depth with overnight minimum temperatures of... Read More

January normally isn’t the time of year for large-scale blowing dust events over the Sahara Desert region of northern Africa, but Meteosat-8 false color imagery (above; Java animation) did show a small plume of blowing dust in northern Chad on 18 January 2007. These... Read More

An AWIPS image of the MODIS visible channel (above) shows fresh snow cover over much of the Upper Midwest region on the afternoon of 16 January 2007, following a winter storm that moved through the area 1-2 days earlier. This satellite scene... Read More

The most common interpretation of the GOES 6.5/6.7 µm “water vapor channel” imagery is that it provides a depiction of the “moisture content” of the middle to upper troposphere. While this is generally a valid interpretation, it is also important to keep in mind that first and foremost, the water... Read More