Wyoming Was So Cold This Week, You Could See Cold LAND From Space
This has been one of the coldest winters I can remember. I mean, we literally hit -50 degrees in December. And apparently, Wyoming got so cold this week that the frigid ground was visible from space.
Why is that so weird? Well, according to the US National Weather Service Cheyenne, usually, they only see clouds from their infrared satellite. But with the deep chill that has blanketed the Cowboy State, the ground itself emitted a deep enough cold to register on the satellite.
Why Did Wyoming's COLD Ground Register on An Infrared Satellite?
In scientific terms, the US NWS explained it as follows:
The darker blues and greens indicate very cold brightness temperatures, or a rough proxy for the temperature of the object emitting the infrared radiation that the satellite sees (in this case, the ground.)
Not all of Wyoming's ground showed up on the map. The NWS reported that increased wind prevented temperatures from getting as cold in other areas, like the areas along I-25 south of Glendo.
What Parts of Wyoming Were the Coldest?
Based on the map provided by the NWS Cheyenne, the Laramie Valley, Shirley Basin, and the North Platte River Valley were cold enough to see the ground from space. That means areas mainly in southern and Central Wyoming were the coldest, with areas around Douglas being the farthest north location showing up on the satellite. Are we surprised? No. Wyoming winter weather can be...well...extreme. This is just another example of how crazy our weather can be!
Check out the map below!