Autumn's First Snowfall: NASA Image of the Week

Early snow cover can be clearly seen in western Pennsylvania and in a broad swath of upstate New York and eastern Ontario.

The season’s first wintry storm in the northeastern United States and parts of eastern Canada knocked out power and blocked roads during the closing days of October 2008.

Anywhere from 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 centimetres) of wet snowfall was reported across upstate New York and southern Quebec before a powerful low pressure center and trailing cold front passed out into the Atlantic on October 28-29.

The sudden snowfall caused many traffic accidents, especially on U.S. Interstate Highway 84, which was closed for a time near Port Jervis, New York, along the border with Pennsylvania.

Canada’s Hydro One power authority estimated that 22,600 homes and businesses across eastern Ontario were without power due to the early wet snow and ice downing power lines, trees and branches.

When NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the region at midday on October 30, it captured the image to the right, which shows the extent of snow cover across the region.

Clearly visible are the snow-covered Catskill and Adirondack mountains from northeastern Pennsylvania northward to the New York-Ontario border.

Snow can also be seen on West Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and the high terrain of western Pennsylvania.

Image: NASA's MODIS Rapid Response System