Cover image by SCOTT KELLY
This animation NOAA’s GOES-East satellite imagery from Jan. 20 to 22 shows the movement of the system that is expected to bring a powerful winter storm to the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.
Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
The NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric data assimilation system uses millions of observations every six hours to compile a global forecast picture. Using a combination of satellite imagery of the past few days and a simulation of future outgoing longwave radiation emitted from the earth’s surface (and subsequently blocked by clouds), this video was produced showing the evolution of the winter storm now affecting the US eastern seaboard. The weather produced by our atmosphere when it balances incoming solar energy and outgoing longwave radiation is nothing short of impressive.