NASA satellite captures image of mid-winter dust storm in Colorado from space

When a cold front pushed through Colorado late last week not only did it bring bitter cold temperatures, it also brought a great deal of wind to the state’s southeastern plains.  NASA’s Aqua satellite was able to capture images of the ensuing dust storm as the cold front pushed through.

As wind speeds increased dust was thrown aloft in southeastern Colorado on Friday, January 11.  The intensity of the dust storm was undoubtedly aided by the dry landscape in what is the most parched part of the state.

Satellite imagery captured the dust storm as it moved into Kansas.

NASA writes:

Although the dust was thickest in western Kansas, many of the source points for the storm were in Colorado. One dust plume arose roughly 70 kilometers (40 miles) south of Colorado Springs. In Kansas, the eastern edge of the dust storm spanned 240 kilometers (150 miles) and the dust was thick enough to completely hide the land surface below, especially east of Goodland. Salina.com reported that the blowing dust reduced visibility to a quarter of a mile (0.4 kilometers).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a dust storm in southeastern Colorado and western Kansas on January 11, 2013. (NASA)
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a dust storm in southeastern Colorado and western Kansas on January 11, 2013. (NASA)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *