Snow Cover from Space

What a snow storm we had across portions of Central and North Alabama yesterday. And yet the impact of this event was significantly less than the event on January 28, 2014. There are many reasons that that is true, but I’m thankful that people across the area took the forecasts seriously and understood the uncertainty of snow/ice forecasting in the Southeast US eliminating much of the danger from the weather situation.

Driving back from Oneonta in the Benchmark Storm Chaser, I experienced the heaviest snow I think I’ve ever seen. The flakes were huge and the roadway was covered to the point that I could see no line markers, no reflectors along the center line of the road, and very little of the curbs or road edges. And driving, even as slowly as I was, the effect of the snow reflecting the headlights was mesmerizing and I think I came close to experience vertigo. It was a similar effect to when they engage hyper drives in Star Wars or Star Trek. And with just a white landscape with very little markers for orientation, it did become a little unnerving. That’s a polite way, perhaps a more macho way, of saying I was experiencing a good deal of fear for running off the road!

But the sky has cleared across Central Alabama this morning, so we can take a look at the view from space which certainly shows the impact of the event. The image below shows a combination of clouds and snow cover. I’ve circled the area which is snow cover and pointed to the areas where clouds are still in place.

Snow cover from the Feb . 12, 2014, snow event in Alabama.

-Brian-

Category: Alabama's Weather