VIIRS Infrared images from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-21 (above) showed widespread ice leads (brighter shades of cyan) in the Beaufort Sea during the 3-day period from 10-12 February 2026 — with a notable increase in ice leads across the eastern Beaufort Sea.Surface wind stress was the primary influence affecting the motion... Read More

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (below) showed ice that had formed in far southern Lake Michigan (within the nearshore waters of Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana) on 20 January 2026.1-minute GOES-19 Visible images with plots of surface winds and surface air temperatures (below) depicted... Read More

VIIRS Infrared images from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-21 (above) showed widespread ice leads in the Chukchi Sea during the 3-day period from 06-08 January 2026. A combination of surface wind stress and ocean currents influenced the motion and evolution of these ice leads.Surface analyses (below) showed a tighter pressure gradient across the... Read More

Spring has clearly sprung in the blog’s home base of Madison, Wisconsin, in the upper midwestern United States, with air temperatures and the activity of both animals (like migratory birds) and people (like joggers) showing that the winter of 2024-2025 is no more. The memories of the cold, icy conditions... Read More