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March 4, 2020 - Cloud Streets over Labrador Bay
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A frigid wind swept across Baffin Island and the Labrador Sea in early March, 2020, creating the perfect scenario for dramatic cloud formations. Temperatures dipped as low as -24°F (-31°C) and rose to only -18°F (-27.8°C) in Iqaluit on March 1. Iqaluit is the capital city of the Canadian territory of Nunavut and is located on Baffin Island. Winds of up to 10 mph (16 km/h) were recorded on that same date.
When cold air moves over a relatively warmer body of water, in this case the Labrador Sea, the air quickly warms and gains the moisture necessary to form clouds, usually cumulus cloud. But these are not typical cumulus clouds. Notice how they line up in organized rows parallel to the direction of the wind. These “cloud streets” are the result of nature trying to balance differences in energy.
Cloud streets occur when columns of heated air—thermals—rise through the atmosphere and carry heat away from the sea surface. The moist air rises until it hits a warmer air layer (a temperature inversion) that acts like a lid. The inversion causes the rising thermals to roll over on themselves, forming parallel cylinders of rotating air. On the upward side of the cylinders (rising air), water vapor condenses and forms clouds. Along the downward side (descending air), skies remain clear.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a stunning false-color image of cloud streets over the Labrador Sea on March 1. This combination of MODIS bands (7,2,1) uses visible and infrared light to help distinguish white sea ice and snow from equally-white cloud. In this band combination, cold ice and snow appears electric blue while deep water appears black. Cloud appears white, but very cold cloud tops may also appear electric blue.
Baffin Island sits in the far northwest (upper left) of this image, Quebec in the southwest and a bit of Greenland can be seen in the northeast. Each of the land masses are covered in slow. A large mass of sea ice stretches between the land masses. Just past the edge of the sea ice, cloud streets begin to form and stretch over the Labrador Sea.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/1/2020
Resolutions:
1km (3.5 MB), 500m (9.8 MB), 250m (7.4 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A frigid wind swept across Baffin Island and the Labrador Sea in early March, 2020, creating the perfect scenario for dramatic cloud formations. Temperatures dipped as low as -24°F (-31°C) and rose to only -18°F (-27.8°C) in Iqaluit on March 1. Iqaluit is the capital city of the Canadian territory of Nunavut and is located on Baffin Island. Winds of up to 10 mph (16 km/h) were recorded on that same date.
When cold air moves over a relatively warmer body of water, in this case the Labrador Sea, the air quickly warms and gains the moisture necessary to form clouds, usually cumulus cloud. But these are not typical cumulus clouds. Notice how they line up in organized rows parallel to the direction of the wind. These “cloud streets” are the result of nature trying to balance differences in energy.
Cloud streets occur when columns of heated air—thermals—rise through the atmosphere and carry heat away from the sea surface. The moist air rises until it hits a warmer air layer (a temperature inversion) that acts like a lid. The inversion causes the rising thermals to roll over on themselves, forming parallel cylinders of rotating air. On the upward side of the cylinders (rising air), water vapor condenses and forms clouds. Along the downward side (descending air), skies remain clear.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a stunning false-color image of cloud streets over the Labrador Sea on March 1. This combination of MODIS bands (7,2,1) uses visible and infrared light to help distinguish white sea ice and snow from equally-white cloud. In this band combination, cold ice and snow appears electric blue while deep water appears black. Cloud appears white, but very cold cloud tops may also appear electric blue.
Baffin Island sits in the far northwest (upper left) of this image, Quebec in the southwest and a bit of Greenland can be seen in the northeast. Each of the land masses are covered in slow. A large mass of sea ice stretches between the land masses. Just past the edge of the sea ice, cloud streets begin to form and stretch over the Labrador Sea.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/1/2020
Resolutions:
1km (3.5 MB), 500m (9.8 MB), 250m (7.4 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
