[NASA] Snow Buries the U.S. Interior and East

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3. Snow Buries the U.S….

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Much of the central, Midwest, and northeast United States is covered in a layer of white snow.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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In this false-color satellite image, snow appears blue and covers much of the central, Midwest, and northeast United States. White clouds appear over parts of northeastern states, and the southeast is green with vegetation.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

Natural ColorFalse Color

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Much of the central, Midwest, and northeast United States is covered in a layer of white snow.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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In this false-color satellite image, snow appears blue and covers much of the central, Midwest, and northeast United States. White clouds appear over parts of northeastern states, and the southeast is green with vegetation.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

Natural Color

False Color

January 26, 2026

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Image Details

A potent winter storm left a wide band of snow stretching from the U.S. Southwest to New England in late January 2026. The heavy snow, along with bitterly cold temperatures, sleet, and ice, created treacherous travel conditions, toppled power lines, and caused widespread school closures, according to

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.

On the afternoon of January 26, the 

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 (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the

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 satellite observed new snow covering a large swath of the country. The left image is natural color, while the

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image on the right uses a combination of visible and infrared light (

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) to distinguish snow (blue) from clouds (white).

Preliminary

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indicate snow accumulations of up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) in parts of Oklahoma between the mornings of January 23 and January 26, with higher accumulation across the Midwest and in New England. Totals of around

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were reported in several Northeast states.

Some locations were digging out from record daily accumulations, including

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in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 24, and

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in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on January 25. Several inches of snow and sleet also fell in parts of

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, a rare occurrence for the area. With temperatures remaining below freezing in many places, the snow and ice may stick around.

NASA’s

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has been activated to support federal partners responding to the winter storm. The team will be posting maps and data products on its open-access

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as new information becomes available.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS 

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, 

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, the 

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

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January 26, 2026

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January 26, 2026

JPEG (6.14 MB)

References & Resources

• CBS News (2026, January 27)
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  . Accessed January 27, 2026.
• NASA (2026)
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  . Accessed January 27, 2026.
• NWS National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (2026, January)
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  . Accessed January 27, 2026.
• NWS Weather Prediction Center (2026, January 26)
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  . Accessed January 27, 2026.
• The Washington Post (2026, January 27)
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  . Accessed January 27, 2026.

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