"Cloud streets" feather North America's storm-lashed eastern coast
NASA's Terra satellite caught this true-color picture on January 24 in a moment of clear weather between two major snowstorms that hit North America's eastern coast.
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
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NASA's Terra satellite caught this true-color picture on January 24 in a moment of clear weather between two major snowstorms that hit North America's eastern coast. The neatly combed rows of clouds that cover the Atlantic Ocean are called cloud streets. They were formed when cold wind from the west blew over the warmer air above the ocean, creating parallel cylinders of rotating air. Clouds condensed where the air rotated upward.
The day Terra took this picture wind speeds of 100 kilometers per hour were recorded across Newfoundland and temperatures of –28 degrees Celsius were recorded in Quebec City, according to NASA. The next day, a storm brought 25 to 38 centimeters of fresh snow to New England.
–Francie Diep
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