Image: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
by Morgan Linn
This satellite image taken Jan. 4th captures clouds swirling above the Great Lakes and the surrounding snowy landscape.
The streams of clouds are caused by cold winter air blowing over the warmer waters of the lakes, said Scott Lindstrom, an information technologist at the Space Science and Engineering Center in Wisconsin.
The image was taken by a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, otherwise known as MODIS. It combines data from 36 different groups of wavelengths to create a view of the earth’s surface.
After the clouds form, the wind blows them back over land, causing snow to fall. While the ground is obscured by clouds in this photo, heavy snow was probably covering the northern shore of eastern Upper Michigan, said Lindstrom.
See other MODIS imagery here.