NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 22, 2009 – Snow storm buries the U.S. East Coast
The Mid-Atlantic states were completely white on Sunday, December 20, 2009, in the wake of a record-breaking snow storm.
The storm deposited between 12 and 30 inches of snow in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.
C. on December 19, according to the National Weather Service. For many locations, the snowfall totals broke records for the most snow to fall in a single December day. The MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this view of the Chesapeake Bay region as the clouds were clearing on December 20. The snow highlights the course of the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. The ridges and valleys of the Appalachian Mountains are similarly highlighted. The forested peaks are darker than the snow-covered valleys. The massive snow storm was a Nor’easter, a powerful storm with strong winds that channels moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to the northeastern United States.
