Are you planning on using this Envirocast® on-air or on-line?
The images in this Envirocast®
Bulletin were taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
onboard NASA's
Aqua satellite on November 22 and December 4, 2006. They show the
U.S. Midwest before and after the snow storm.
Snow Storm Hit U.S. Midwest
The above MODIS images are from November 22 and
December 4. They show the U.S. Midwest before and after the recent snow
storm. A belt of snow cover can be easily seen on the December 4
image, from the west coast of Lake Michigan through the center of
Illinois and Missouri states.
Note: The animation above shows
how you can use the images to your right in your weathercast to
show the changes in snow cover in the U.S. Midwest. Save
each of the still images on your right at the appropriate
resolution for your system (either 720x486 or 640x480) and
dissolve from one to another in sequence to achieve the above
effect.
In
visible images (true
color), it is sometimes difficult to tell the
difference between clouds and snow on the ground (under mostly
clear skies). Of course, if you have access to a sequence of
visible images, clouds will typically move in time while snow
cover won't. On the other hand, while looking at a single visible
image, meteorologists can determine whether a blotch of white is
snow cover by identifying rivers or lakes, which early in the cold
season, are ice- and snow-free and therefore appear as dark
fingers amidst white snow cover. Snow cover ends abruptly at the
coastlines.
We also provide
false color imagery.
In these false color images, clouds are white, water is black,
snow cover is in aqua color and vegetation is green.
Chicago Area
November 22, 2006, before
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
December 4, 2006, after
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
St. Louis Area
November 22, 2006, before
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
December 4, 2006, after
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
Kansas City Area
November 22, 2006, before
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
December 4, 2006, after
snow:
NTSC 720x486
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 720x486
false-color
image
NTSC 640x480
with annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
no annotation,
true-color
image
NTSC 640x480
false-color
image
Environmental Impacts:
The snow and ice storm that blew
through the Midwest on Thursday, November 30 is being
blamed for 19 deaths so far. Most deaths have occurred
due to the massive power outages in the states of Missouri
and Illinois.
Chicago received 6.2 inches of snow,
and many areas of Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri got
more than a foot.
Missouri declared a state of emergency,
and Kansas declared disaster emergency for 27 counties.
The storm initially left 510,000 homes
without power on Friday. That number was reduced to
350,000 by Sunday afternoon.
The power outages are being caused by
frozen tree limbs falling onto electrical wires.
Restoring the power is a slow process because of the
freezing cold conditions.
Many people have sought warmth at local
Red Cross shelters, but many others are stuck in their
homes with high temperatures in the 20’s (degrees
Fahrenheit).
The Missouri National Guard has been
going door to door to make sure that people are safe in
their homes.
Supplementary Material:
NASA's AQUA Satellite:
Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth
Science satellite mission collecting about the Earth's
water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water
vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil
moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land
and ice. The Aqua spacecraft (formally known as EOS-PM)
was successfully launched on May 4, 2002 at the Vandenberg
Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. t is flying
at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth,
and the life expectancy is 6 years. [Aqua's
Orbit], [Animation
of MODIS Observing the Earth]
Aqua passes south to north over the equator
in the afternoon, and thus it passes over us at the same
local time every day, approximately 1:30 p.m.
NTSC TV Ready images 720x486
Image NTSC 720x486
This
natural-color MODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on
November 22, 2006, before the snow
storm.
Image NTSC 720x486
Same as above (with no annotation).
Image NTSC 720x486
This
false-color MODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on
November 22, 2006, before the snow
storm.
Image NTSC 720x486
This
natural-colorMODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on December 4,
2006, after the snow storm.
Image NTSC 720x486
Same as above (with no annotation).
Image NTSC 720x486
This
false-colorMODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on December 4, 2006,
after the snow storm.
NTSC
TV Ready images 640x480
Image NTSC 640x480
This
natural-color MODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on
November 22, 2006, before the snow
storm.
Image NTSC 640x480
Same as above (with no annotation).
Image NTSC 640x480
This
false-color MODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on
November 22, 2006, before the snow
storm.
Image NTSC 640x480
This
natural-colorMODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on December 4,
2006, after the snow storm.
Image NTSC 640x480
Same as above (with no annotation).
Image NTSC 640x480
This
false-colorMODIS image shows the U.S. Midwest on December 4, 2006,
after the snow storm.
Envirocast®
Bulletin is a service of StormCenter
Communications, Inc. If you are having trouble downloading an image or
if you have any questions, please call StormCenter Communications at
410-203-1316.
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a registered trademark of StormCenter Communications, Inc. Envirocast®
content is copyright StormCenter Communications, Inc. and is intended to be
used solely for those StormCenter customers using the Envirocast software or
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are hereby notified that any use of, disclosure, copying, distribution, or
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To save the above TV-ready images from this page,
simply right-click on the thumbnail version and choose "Save Target
As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link Target As..."
(Netscape) to save it to your computer's hard drive.
