[Image source: Liam Gumley, SSEC/CIMSS]

A comparison of two consecutive MODIS true color images from the same day (viewed using Google Earth, above) reveals that numerous small fires developed (and produced smoke plumes) within a relatively short amount of time across the southeastern US on 12 March 2008. The satellite overpass time of the earlier Terra MODIS image is around 16:18 UTC (12:18 PM local time), while the overpass times of the eastern and western portions of the later Aqua MODIS image is around 17:53 UTC (1:53 PM local time) and 19:32 UTC (3:32 PM local time), respectively.

The GOES-12 Wildfire ABBA product (below) confirms the presence of widespread “fire hot spots” that increased in number and coverage during the late morning and early afternoon hours on 12 March.

View only this post Read Less

MODIS true color images (viewed using Google Earth, above) showed that significant snow cover still remained over parts of the Upper Midwest region (especially across northeastern Ohio) on 11 March 2008. With the highway overlays removed, you can better see that several of the smaller towns across northeastern Ohio have a slightly darker appearance than the surrounding rural areas, due to the higher concentration of trees, buildings, and roadways in those urban areas. Also note the widespread ice that covered much of Lake Erie (in the upper right portion of the images), as well as along the southern shore of Lake Michigan (in the upper left portion of the images).

The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC) snow depth data (below) confirmed that many locations in eastern Ohio still had significant snow cover (as deep as 10-14 inches, with 4 inches on the ground at Toledo and 8 inches on the ground at Columbus) — however, not far to the west there was no snow on the ground in parts of Indiana (Indianapolis had zero snow depth, thus that area exhibited a light brown appearance on the MODIS true color imagery).

===============================================

An AWIPS image of the MODIS visible channel (above) showed the coverage of narrow ice features that were floating in the nearshore waters of southern Lake Michigan on 11 March (as was also pointed out by the National Weather Service forecast office at Milwaukee/Sullivan). Southwesterly winds at the surface were increasing during the day and gusting to 20-25 knots in some locations, allowing air temperatures to rise into the upper 30s to low 40s F over the snow-covered areas of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

The effect of these gusty southwesterly winds on the offshore ice could be seen when comparing 2 consecutive MODIS true color images (viewed using Google Earth, below) — the time difference between the 2 images is about 101 minutes (the earlier Terra MODIS image time was around 17:11 UTC or 12:11 PM local time; the later Aqua MODIS image time was around 18:52 UTC or 1:52 PM local time), and the ice is seen to drift some distance to the northeast during that short time interval. The long, narrow, straight cloud features that also appear in the images are aircraft contrails.

[Image source: Liam Gumley, SSEC/CIMSS]

View only this post Read Less

A sequence of Terra and Aqua MODIS true color images from the SSEC MODIS Direct Broadcast site (above) reveal that widespread ice that had formed in parts of Lake Superior during the 08 March – 09 March – 10 March 2008 period. There are 2 images from each of those 3 days, with the Terra and Aqua images on each day separated by less than 2 hours — and even in that short time, you can see some movement of the ice features due to surface winds blowing across the lake and shifting the ice fields (plus the change in wind direction from day to day moved the ice features in different directions). Temperatures across northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan had been fairly cold during the first week of March 2008, with minimum temperatures of -33º F (-36º C) at Embarrass, Minnesota and -26º F (-32º C) at Upson, Wisconsin on 07 March, and -31º F (-35º C) at Herman, Michigan on 08 March. While somewhat impressive, the ice coverage over Lake Superior did not match that seen back in February/March 2003.

View only this post Read Less

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a large portion of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in the Antarctic (map) began to collapse during late February and early March 2008. A Terra MODIS visible image (above; courtesy of Shelley Knuth, SSEC Antarctic Meteorological Research Center) shows the extent of ice shelf disintegration on 10 March 2008.

The latest real-time IR satellite composite and Antarctic synoptic analysis chart from the SSEC AMRC is shown below.

View only this post Read Less