Welcome to the How The Weatherworks ^TM new satellite imagery page for

LAND FEATURES

October 16, 1999

visible imagery

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This is a visible GOES (geostationary) satellite image from the morning of October 16, 1999. Due to differences in albedo (reflected sunlight) and the presence of low cloudiness, certain geographic features can easily be seen. For example, land reflects more sunlight than water. At certain sun angles, the water is more reflective, but generally, sunlight is better able to enter the water. This lessens the amount of sunlight that can be reflected. As a result, Lakes Erie and Ontario (upper right), Great Salt Lake (central left), and the Gulf of California (lower left corner) stand out darkly against nearby lighter land. The same is true of the east coast north of Hurricane Irene and the entire Gulf Coast. Darker areas in the western United States showcase tree-covered higher terrain. Treed areas reflect less sunlight than soil or sandy areas. The Mogollon Rim in Arizona and the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California are just two of the regions that stand out. Just east of the tree-covered parts in the western United States lies a cloudy region with a scalloped western edge. This is a layer of lower level stratus and stratocumulus clouds. The scalloped western edge of the clouds is meeting the front range of the Rocky Mountains. Where this occurs, the cloud line edge more-or-less marks a topographic contour (elevation) line. A similar, albeit less well-defined, cloud edge can be seen over Pennsylvania - Maryland - Virginia where lower-level clouds lie to the east and southeast of the Appalachian ridges.

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This page was updated on October 17, 1999.

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