Amato Evan captured some awesome Google Earth AVHRR images of a large dust storm that was affecting the Arabian Peninsula during the 01-04 February 2008 period. A rare winter case of northerly “shamal” winds (producing gusts of 35 mph) was creating the massive cloud of blowing dust and blowing sand. ... Read More

A very cold arctic air mass was in place across parts of the Canadian Prairies, with many sites in Alberta reporting surface temperatures colder than -40º F (-40º C) on the morning of 29 January 2008; the leading edge of this arctic air was surging rapidly southward across the Great Plains of the US as a strong cold frontal... Read More

A Terra MODIS true color image from the SSEC MODIS Today site (above) revealed a swath of fresh snow cover across parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia on 20 January 2008. Snowfall amounts in the state of Alabama (which fell on the previous day) were as high as 5.8 inches near Verbena, 5.0 inches at Orrville, and 4.0... Read More

Two new sources of Google Earth satellite imagery are now available from SSEC: AVHRR images from the NOAA operational polar orbiting satellites, and MODIS images from the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites. An example of the AVHRR “false color” imagery (above) zooms in to show the deep snow cover that existed over much of the Upper Midwest... Read More