NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 29, 2008 - Cloud Streets over Lake Michigan

 
STATUS REPORT
Date Released: Monday, December 29, 2008
Source: NASA MODIS Web

Spread out over the lake are lines of clouds are called "cloud streets." These are caused when low-level winds moving between and over obstacles cause the clouds to line up into rows (much like streets) that match the direction of the winds. At the point where the clouds first form streets, they're very narrow and well-defined. But as they age, they lose their definition, and begin to spread out and rejoin each other into a larger cloud mass. On the eastern side of the Lake, it's hard to distinguish clouds from the snow on the ground!