VISIT: Meteorological Interpretation Blog

Kilauea Eruption

On 10 March 2026, NWS WFO Honolulu, HI, issued a rare Ashfall Warning over the big island of Hawai’i as Kilauea, an active shield volcano, had violently erupted (yet again). This time, the volcanic eruption produced a significant ash plume that led to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to temporarily close parts of the park and nearby Highway 11, as copious amounts of ash and tephra fell from the sky.

The GOES-18 Ash RGB captured the extensive plume consisting of SO2 (bright green pixels) and a mix of ash and SO2 (yellow pixels), that traveled across the east side of the big island of Hawai’i and then traversed the Central Pacific Ocean. In the GOES animation below, the plume rapidly ejects to the southeast while shifting to the north/northeast throughout the time period.

GOES – 18 ABI Ash RGB from 1700Z, 10 March 2026 to 0300Z, 11 March 2026

During the afternoon of 10 March 2026, two overpasses from NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 VIIRS show the ash and SO2 advecting offshore. The VIIRS Ash RGB comprises of the 8.6 um (M14), 10.8 um (M15), and 12.0 um (M16) spectral channels, while exhibiting a 750-m spatial resolution.

VIIRS Ash RGB at 2302Z and 2352Z, 10 March 2026

Additionally, Kilauea’s hotspot could be seen by polar-orbiting satellites via the VIIRS Day Fire RGB animation, provided below.

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Blowing Snow across Northwest Alaska

NWS WFO Fairbanks, AK, forecasted blowing snow across northwestern Alaska, where the region would experience strong and gusty winds of ~50-60 mph from 6-8 March 2026. On the afternoon of 8 March 2026, the high winds led to the existing snowpack becoming dislodged, then picked up and blown across the remote landscape. Blowing snow and reduced visibility reports were identified in northwest Alaska, specifically at the Kotzebue (PAOT) and Buckland (PABL) airports. The two airports also observed gusty, northwesterly winds and reduced visibilities as low as 1/2 of a mile. Blowing snow can be hazardous and impact travel, especially for the aviation industry (and motorists). Refer to the five hour, surface observation animation from 8-9 March 2026. Note, reduced visibilities due to blowing snow were also seen in northeast Alaska, near Deadhorse, AK, (PASC).

Surface Observations from ~21 UTC, 8 March 2026 to ~2 UTC, 9 March 2026

JPSS polar-orbiting satellites observed the blowing snow across northwest Alaska during the afternoon of 8 March 2026. The VIIRS Blowing Snow RGB depicts the blowing snow in light purple-bluish colors with a northwest-to-southeast orientation. In the RGB animation below, the swaths of blowing snow can be seen advecting across sea ice (i.e., over Kotzebue Sound) and snow covered surfaces, moving towards the Alaskan Interior. Note, the RGB can only be utilized during the daytime, as it employs visible and near-infrared channels within its spectra. The RGB has a 375-m spatial resolution.

VIIRS Blowing Snow RGB from ~21 UTC, 8 March 2026 to ~2 UTC, 9 March 2026

During the event, NWS WFO Fairbanks, AK, highlighted the VIIRS RGB on social media, and provided a corresponding photo of the blowing snow (via Buckland Airport – FAA webcam) that was captured at ~22Z, 8 March 2026.

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Ranger Road Fire

On 17 February 2026, the NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued an Extreme Fire Weather Outlook for the central and southern high plains, stretching from southwest Nebraska to the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. The outlook relayed the increased fire danger over the region, which was forecasted for high winds and low relative humidities. Abundant dry fuels were also present, which if fires were to ignite, that could support rapid fire spread across the domain. During the mid-morning of 17 February 2026, numerous fires erupted over the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwest Kansas. This blog entry focuses on the largest fire that ignited, the Ranger Road Fire. As of 19 February 2026, the fire burned approximately 283,000 acres.

Using the 5-minute, shortwave infrared imagery from geostationary satellites, one can observe the Ranger Road Fire’s initial hotspot (seen at ~1716Z, in white and then red pixels) in the midst of cloud cover overhead. The fire rapidly spreads to the northeast, eventually shifting eastward as a front passes through the region. Also, notice the other fire hotspots nearby, especially the fires near Woodward, OK, where a few structures were destroyed.

GOES ABI 3.9 um from 15Z, 17 February 2026 to 15Z, 18 February 2026

Surface map analysis shows a strong low-pressure system that moved off the Rockies and entered into the northern high plains. As the system moved east, it contained an elongated cold front that extended into the southern high plains, which supported fire spread across Oklahoma and Kansas.

Surface Map Analysis from 18Z, 17 February 2026 to 06Z, 18 February 2026

The VIIRS Fire Temperature RGB estimated the fire intensity of the Ranger Road Fire in a qualitative way. The RGB depicts the fire pixels in red, orange, yellow and white: where white pixels indicate the most intense fires. In the animation below, the fire pixels align with the narrow fire perimeter. Notice, how the fires spread to the northeast, as water clouds (blue) and ice clouds (dark green) move away from the fires.

VIIRS Fire Temperature RGB from 1840Z – 2020Z, 17 February 2026

A 4-panel of VIIRS imagery is provided to show the additional data that can be used to view the fire hotspots, the smoke plumes, and dust that was lofted and blown, due to high winds. The 4-panel consists of GeoColor (top-left), Dust-Fire RGB (top-right), 3.7 um (M12), and the Day Fire RGB at 2020Z, 17 February 2026. Labels are provided to indicate some of the features in the imagery.

VIIRS 4-Panel: GeoColor, Dust-Fire RGB, 3.7 um (M12) and Day Fire RGB at 2020Z, 17 February 2026

On 19 February 2026, the burn scar, ash (produced from the Ranger Road Fire), and ambient dust were also captured from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. Refer to the CIRA social media link below.

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Fractured Ice: Lake Erie

A significant chunk of ice fractured across Lake Erie last weekend, where an 80+ mile long crevice was seen from space, and nearly stretched from Ontario, Canada, to Cleveland, OH. A social media – drone video (below) captures the fractured ice along Lake Erie.

Per NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), ice coverage over Lake Erie was hovering around 95% during early February 2026. Refer to the GLERL graphic that highlights this winter season’s above average ice coverage and how it compares to its historical average.

Using the high refresh rate from the GOES-19 ABI GeoColor, one can see the rapid development of the ice cracking in the middle of Lake Erie on 8 February 2026. The elongated fracture exhibits a northeast to southwest orientation.

GOES -19 ABI GeoColor from ~14-18Z, 8 February 2026

Polar-orbiting satellites also captured the event, where the VIIRS visible (375-m) multi-day animation shows multiple cracks along Lake Erie through 10 February 2026. The lake ice shifts northwestward over the time period.

VIIRS Visible (I-1), 0.64 um, daytime overpasses from 7-10 February 2026

During the last quarter phase of the lunar cycle, nighttime visible imagery observed the reflected moonlight off the lake ice. A VIIRS NCC image comparison shows a before (8 February 2026) and after (9 February 2026) the lake ice started to break up.

VIIRS Near-Constant-Contrast (NCC) nighttime overpasses from 8-9 February 2026

As NWS WFO Cleveland stated below, these type of situations can endanger the general public (e.g., people left stranded on moving ice sheets, ice jams that lead to flooding) and marine vessels that traverse along Lake Erie.

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Mississippi Ice Storm

During late January 2026, a historic winter storm impacted millions of people across the central and southern United States, producing significant snow, sleet and ice accumulations that led to a flurry of airport delays and cancellations, impassable roadways for motorists, damage to infrastructure, power outages, and cold temperatures. This blog entry focuses on the significant ice (and sleet accumulations) that occurred across Mississippi and adjacent states. The video below captures the devastating impacts in Mississippi, that included widespread downed power lines and trees caused by high amounts of ice accumulation due to freezing rain. Even the University of Mississippi (known as Ole Miss), located in Oxford, MS, was closed for an extensive period of time due to the power outages and travel challenges. Regional snow, sleet and ice accumulation reports can be accessed from the WFO – Jackson, MS and WFO – Memphis, TN webpages.

After the storm passed through the region, the SNPP VIIRS Snowmelt RGB provided a large-scale view of the snow (i.e., dry snow, depicted in light blue), sleet or wet snow (dark blue) and ice (darkest blue) accumulations across several southern states.

VIIRS Snowmelt RGB at 1920Z, 26 January 2026

The VIIRS Snowmelt RGB is unique, as it incorporates the VIIRS 1.24 um spectral band within the green spectra of the RGB, and is highly sensitive to snow and ice properties. Additionally, the 1.24 um is not currently available on existing geostationary satellites. A zoomed-in comparison between the 1.24 um and the VIIRS Snowmelt RGB imagery can be seen below. Ice accumulations across the Lower Mississippi River valley stand out in each image and are seen in dark grey/black colors in the 1.24 um imagery and the darkest blue colors within the RGB. Both datasets exhibit 750-m spatial resolutions.

VIIRS 1.24 um (left) and VIIRS Snowmelt RGB (right) at 1920Z, 26 January 2026

This region also experienced numerous power outages. The VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) provided a before and after image comparison that shows the emitted city lights that are typically seen across the area, contrasted with the disappearance of city lights after the storm passed through. Notice the significant reduction of emitted city lights (a.k.a., power outages) that can be seen across northeastern Louisiana and rural Mississippi. The impacted areas align with where significant ice accumulations were observed.

VIIRS DNB image comparison: (Before) 28 December 2025 and (After) 27 January 2026

Post storm, a week long VIIRS DNB animation (shown below) observed a few city lights reappearing across the domain. Reflected moonlight also captures snow disappearing and receding towards the north and northwest.

VIIRS DNB: nighttime visible images from 27 January 2026 through 4 February 2026

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