NASA MODIS Image of the Day: September 6, 2012 – Snow in Tasmania
A late winter snow blanketed the highlands of Tasmania in late August, 2012. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on August 31, 2012. Tasmania is an archipelago of more than 300 islands which are located just 240 kilometers (150 mi) south east of mainland Australia. The main island, which compares in size to the state of West Virginia or the Republic of Ireland is home to about 500,000 people. The Tasmania winter falls from May through August, with average winter temperatures between 3°C and 11°C (37°F and 51°F). The winter of 2012 was dry overall for most areas, especially the East Coast, with the town of Scamander recording the driest winter in its history. Temperatures ran near normal most of the winter over most of the country, but several cold fronts crossed Tasmania in late June, causing temperatures to plunge below average. Despite the relatively dry winter, a strong snowstorm hit Tasmania on August 6, when ice and snow fell heavily in elevations higher than 300 meters, causing the roads to be closed in the south, west and midlands. On August 26 another storm brought snow down to 200 meters in the south. Although this image was captured five days after the last major snowfall and the day before the locally recognized start of spring, snow still caps the mountainous highlands throughout the country.
