A late November snowstorm walloped southern Utah and Northern Arizona, closing roads and downing powerlines. The town of Tusayan, Arizona, declared a state of emergency after being blanketed with nearly two feet of snow on November 29, 2019. The town, located just outside of Grand Canyon National Park on the South Rim, reported treacherous driving conditions and power outages. A second fierce storm swept the region on December 15-16, adding fresh snow, especially along the Colorado Plateau and North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of a wintery scene in the southwestern United States on December 19. Most of the snow lies on the Colorado Plateau north of the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River runs through the Grand Canyon, flowing into Lake Mead in the west. Most of the land in this image belongs to Arizona, with Nevada in the far west and Utah in the north.

Image Facts

Satellite: Aqua

Date Acquired: 12/19/2019

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 1,4,3

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC