INTERPRETATION
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Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Team Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado |
December
3, 1999
Cities in the Snow
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Figure 1 
Figure 2 
Figure 3 |
On the 17th and 18th of
November, the northern Colorado Front Range experienced significant snowfall
associated with a developing extra tropical cyclone. The resulting
snow cover occurred in a quite extensive area as shown the visible image
available on the morning of the 19th (Figure 1). Less obvious are
the darker patches in the snow field which are related to the cities and
towns along the Front Range.
Figure 2 shows a map of the Front Range area centered
on Denver.
Figure 3 shows a magnified version of Figure 1 with annotated city names. Note that all names are placed to the right of the towns, except for the town of Loveland, which is placed to the left. The likely reason for the cities being visible in the snow field is that this region, in general, is flat with no trees. This provides an even canvas for snow as visible from space, especially when the snow fall is relatively deep as was the case for this event. The exceptions to this generality are the towns where trees and plowed streets are much more prevalent. As the snow melts off tree branches and the streets are plowed, the albedo decreases and the town areas appear darker in the GOES visible imagery. |