NASA MODIS Image of the Day: October 27, 2011 – Fall snow in the Rockies
A bright white blanket of snow along the high elevations of the Rocky Mountains was a marked contrast to the tan, orange and green autumn landscape of the southwestern United States in late October, 2011.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer captured this true-color image on October 20, 2011, after the first winter snows had fallen in the mountains.
The states captured in this image, from north to south, then west to east are Wyoming, Utah and Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Despite the snow-covered ridges, the temperatures were far from frigid when this image was captured, with highs just above 70°F, and lows of about 33°F in Golden, Colorado, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. But the early snow on the peaks did portend an early start to winter storms. By October 26, Golden recorded a high of only 30°F as an out-of-season early winter storm delivered heavy snow to the region. According to the New York Times a total of 12 to 14 inches had fallen in foothill communities like Golden, and even more in the higher peaks and passes of the Rockies, by the evening of October 26. Many schools were closed, highways became treacherous and scattered power outages occurred, with Xcel Energy, the region’s biggest power provider, reporting over 107,000 without power. In Loveland, the Red Cross set up a shelter for people with no electricity, providing warmth against the predicted plummeting temperatures, which were expected to be in the mid-teens overnight. Tree damage was reportedly very high, because wet snow piled on trees still covered with brightly colored autumn foliage, weighing the branches down and snapping them. Broken limbs contributed to power outages. The early snow in the mountains allowed some of the earliest opening dates for skiing on record, with some resorts operating before mid-month. The early snow may be a good sign for a very dry region which depends on winter precipitation for year-round water supplies. Last winter, Denver received only about 23 inches of snow from September to May; more than half that amount has already fallen this October.
