March 28, 2024

Stunning View of Great Lakes Dressed for Winter Captured by NASA Astronaut

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapped this photograph on February 20, 2022, after a strong winter storm brought snow, sleet, and rain to the Great Lakes area of the U.S. and Canada. Credit: NASA
When astronauts looked down on the area in February 2022, Land and water were decorated with snow and ice.
A strong winter season storm brought snow, sleet, and rain to the Great Lakes location of the U.S. and Canada on February 17 and 18, 2022. After the storm, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) snapped this photo on February 20, 2022.
At the time, the area station was orbiting directly over northern Iowa, however the oblique angle of the image shows areas farther to the east consisting of Michigan, Ontario, and the Great Lakes. Notification the band of snow between Lake Huron and Lake Erie.

Notice the band of snow in between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Lake Eries ice cover, for example, peaked late in January 2022 at 94 percent. Notification in this image that Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario– significantly much deeper lakes than Lake Erie– are still mainly unfrozen. The phenomenon contributed to the huge accumulations of snow during a historical winter storm later in the year, when snowfall amounts to reached more than 50 inches (130 centimeters) in communities east of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.

The photo likewise reveals a lot of ice on Lake Huron– most notably in Saginaw Bay– and across much of Lake Erie. Almost one week later on, ice cover on the Great Lakes reached its optimum degree for the 2021– 2022 winter season, determining a little above average (computed given that the start of record keeping in the early 1970s).
Ice on specific lakes can peak earlier or later depending on conditions that change daily. Lake Eries ice cover, for example, peaked late in January 2022 at 94 percent.
The initiation of ice formation depends upon aspects such as the lakes latitude, size, and depth. Notification in this image that Lake Michigan and Lake Ontario– substantially deeper lakes than Lake Erie– are still mainly unfrozen. The exposed water on these lakes can supply the moisture for lake-effect snow. The phenomenon added to the big accumulations of snow throughout a historical winter storm later in the year, when snowfall totals reached more than 50 inches (130 centimeters) in communities east of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Astronaut picture ISS066-E-147455 was acquired on February 20, 2022, with a Nikon D5 digital cam utilizing a focal length of 24 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 66 team. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have actually been gotten rid of. The International Space Station Program supports the lab as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the best worth to scientists and the public, and to make those images easily available on the Internet.