Satellite Image of the 'Snowtober' Storm

By Nancy Atkinson - November 1, 2011 at 2:16 PM UTC | Planetary Science

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An unusual October storm dumped wet heavy snow across much of the Northeast US over the weekend, as much as 32 inches (81 centimeters) in some areas. Nicknamed "Snowtober," the storm left as many as 3 million people without power at the snowstorm's peak, and was blamed for the deaths of at least 10 people. In this images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite, a swath of snow sweeps from West Virginia northeastward to Maine, as seen on Oct. 30, 2011. Clouds hover east and west of the snow, blocking the satellite sensor's view of western Pennsylvania and parts of the Atlantic Ocean.

The storm broke snowfall-total records in many cities, with strong winds and heavy tree damage as the heavy snow easily clung to trees which still had their leaves, snapping branches and power lines.

Source:

NASA Earth Obseratory

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com