On a cool November morning, low clouds traced the branching valleys of the Appalachian Plateau and the Cumberland River. By afternoon, they’d pale, leaving clear skies over the autumn panorama.
The change is seen on this pair of pictures from November 8, 2026. The MODIS (Average Decision Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite tv for pc acquired the left picture that morning. On this natural-color view, low clouds seem white as they fill most of the valleys. Autumn vegetation seems in shades of brown and inexperienced.
The VIIRSÂ (Seen Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on NOAA-21 acquired the appropriate picture that afternoon, after the clouds had dissipated and uncovered the rivers and lakes beneath them. This false-color view makes it simpler to differentiate water (darkish blue) from vegetation (brilliant inexperienced).
The clouds seem like fog, a kind of cloud that varieties close to the bottom. Foggy mornings within the area are widespread this time of yr. As nights lengthen, the bottom has extra time to radiate away the day’s warmth, and the air simply above it cools to the dew level—the temperature at which air turns into saturated and water vapor begins condensing into the tiny droplets that make up fog.
As a result of chilly air is denser than heat air, it flows downslope and swimming pools in valleys, so fog tends to kind there first. Discover the fog filling the branching valleys throughout a part of the Appalachian Plateau in japanese Kentucky and southwestern West Virginia. Rivers and streams that run alongside most of the valley flooring add to the impact by supplying further moisture. The identical sample is seen alongside the Cumberland River and its reservoirs in north-central Tennessee and south-central Kentucky.
Based on the Nationwide Climate Service, temperatures in lots of locations on the morning of November 8 dipped into the 30s Fahrenheit earlier than giving technique to a gentle, sunny afternoon. Forecasters reported domestically dense valley fog that morning. Dense fog had additionally blanketed a wider a part of the area earlier within the week, prompting advisories for hazardous journey situations.
NASA Earth Observatory pictures by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing MODIS knowledge from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview, and VIIRS knowledge from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview and the Joint Polar Satellite tv for pc System (JPSS). Story by Kathryn Hansen.
November 8, 2026, Terra MODIS
