Videos: Two Different Satellite Views of the Big Snowstorm of 2011

To speak in the vernacular of the peasantry, this storm was a whopper. Heavy snow, ice, freezing rain, and frigid wind battered about two thirds of the United States, making it “a winter storm of historic proportions,” said the National Weather Service. This animation—made with images from the NOAA-NASA GOES 13 satellite—shows the giant storm developing and moving across the country between January 31 and February 2. Below is another video view from GOES-East satellite, which includes infrared water vapor imagery from January 29 -February 1, 2011.

And there’s also an update on Cyclone Yasi.

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Yasi weakened after coming ashore early on Thursday morning but was still strong enough to produce high winds and tidal surges that sent waves crashing deep into seaside communities. Thankfully, so far no lives have been lost because of this storm. Officials said lives were saved because after days of dire warnings people heeded directions to flee to evacuation centers or bunker themselves at home. Track the storm on WeatherUnderground, and read more on the latest news from Yasi on The Guardian.

Sources: NASA Earth Observatory, SolarWatcher, The Guardian