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April 16, 2020 - Snow in Colorado
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A springtime winter storm swept across the United States in mid-April, 2020, bringing record cold temperatures and heavy snow from the Pacific Northwest through northern Michigan.
The frigid, dramatic storm front hit Colorado on April 10 in a dramatic way, with a swirling “gustnado” raking the ground near Pueblo West High School in Pueblo, Colorado. Wind gusts of 107 mph (274 km/h) were measured near that site. According to Accuweather, “a gustnado is a short-lived, ground-based swirling wind that can form on the leading edge of a severe thunderstorm. Although the name comes from "gust front of a tornado," and a gustnado almost looks like a tornado, it is not considered to be one.”
Once the front passed, temperatures plunged. According to the Denver Post, on Monday April 13 the temperature plummeted to 16°F, beating the low of 17°F set in 1933. By the morning of April 14, the low had dropped to 11°F, breaking the record low of 15°F for that date, which had also been set 87 years ago. By the time the storm passed through Colorado on April 13, a substantial layer of fresh snow had fallen over much of the state. The deepest snowfall, measuring 18.2 inches, was reported at Boulder, while Denver International Airport reported only 1 inch.
On April 14, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Colorado after emerging from the grips of the winter storm. The heaviest snow lies across the highest elevations. In lower elevations, little snow remains, thanks to a combination of low (or in some areas, no) snowfall and a warm spring sun that quickly melts small amounts of snow.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 4/14/2020
Resolutions:
1km (111.3 KB), 500m (400.6 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A springtime winter storm swept across the United States in mid-April, 2020, bringing record cold temperatures and heavy snow from the Pacific Northwest through northern Michigan.
The frigid, dramatic storm front hit Colorado on April 10 in a dramatic way, with a swirling “gustnado” raking the ground near Pueblo West High School in Pueblo, Colorado. Wind gusts of 107 mph (274 km/h) were measured near that site. According to Accuweather, “a gustnado is a short-lived, ground-based swirling wind that can form on the leading edge of a severe thunderstorm. Although the name comes from "gust front of a tornado," and a gustnado almost looks like a tornado, it is not considered to be one.”
Once the front passed, temperatures plunged. According to the Denver Post, on Monday April 13 the temperature plummeted to 16°F, beating the low of 17°F set in 1933. By the morning of April 14, the low had dropped to 11°F, breaking the record low of 15°F for that date, which had also been set 87 years ago. By the time the storm passed through Colorado on April 13, a substantial layer of fresh snow had fallen over much of the state. The deepest snowfall, measuring 18.2 inches, was reported at Boulder, while Denver International Airport reported only 1 inch.
On April 14, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Colorado after emerging from the grips of the winter storm. The heaviest snow lies across the highest elevations. In lower elevations, little snow remains, thanks to a combination of low (or in some areas, no) snowfall and a warm spring sun that quickly melts small amounts of snow.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 4/14/2020
Resolutions:
1km (111.3 KB), 500m (400.6 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
