A NASA satellite caught a huge cyclone storm last week swirling over Lake Michigan and surrounding states.

A giant, white shrimp. Photo: NASA

A cyclone is an area of low pressure where winds flow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, according to the University of Illinois cyclone webpage.  They usually develop when a warm front from the south meets a cold front from the north.  The cold and warm air wrap around a center of low pressure and the air in the center where they meet causes clouds and precipitation.

Mid-latitude cyclones cause stormy weather in the continental U.S.  While their comma shape usually identifies them, I distinctly see a shrimp in the above NASA photo.

Watch the shrimp, or comma, develop in a very cool animation from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites that shows the storm’s progress from September 25 to September 27.