Earth is not as excessive because the sci-fi desert planet Arrakis, of Dune fame. However it nonetheless hosts some colossal mud storms.
On April 19, two Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate satellites snapped footage of an immense mud storm sweeping throughout elements of New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico. Meteorologists had been impressed with the views beneath.
“An incredible view of a dust storm charging south across Mexico,” the Cooperative Institute for Analysis within the Environment, a multidisciplinary science group, posted on X.
“I don’t post imagery here very often anymore but this one is an all-timer,” added Dakota Smith, an atmospheric scientist who’s eager on posting salient or spectacular climate phenomena on-line.
Mashable Mild Velocity
A chilly entrance handed by way of the area, and in its wake, robust winds whipped up this desert sand and mud, producing an expansive mud storm that traveled south into Northern Mexico. Visibility in Carlsbad, New Mexico, for instance, was a couple of quarter mile.
“An incredible view of a dust storm charging south across Mexico.”
The clip beneath is from the GOES-18 satellite tv for pc, and is adopted by a shot from the GOES-19 satellite tv for pc (“GOES” is brief for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite tv for pc). Each satellites, invaluable elements of america’ climate commentary and atmospheric science packages, orbit in area about 22,236 miles above Earth’s equator. This high-altitude space is known as geostationary orbit, which is a singular place round Earth the place spacecraft orbit on the similar charge Earth is rotating, which means they keep locked in the identical place relative to our planet.
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The GOES-19 satellite tv for pc’s view of an expansive mud storm blowing throughout elements of New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico on April 19, 2025.
Credit score: NOAA
The sprawling storm could not be prevented. “Several Blowing Dust Warnings were issued by the NWS Forecast Offices in El Paso and Midland, which at times covered parts of Interstates 10 and 20 in New Mexico and Texas,” Scott Bachmeier, a CIRA meteorologist, defined in a climate weblog. Beneath the mud storm, you may also spot smoke plumes from wildfires.
These trendy GOES satellites, constructed by NASA and operated by NOAA, are technological marvels with nice public profit. Their imagers scan our planet with 4 instances the decision of earlier GOES satellites.
They usually return copious quantities of information. “The imager provides images of weather patterns, hurricanes, and severe storms as frequently as every 30 seconds,” NOAA explains.
