Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features a dust storm over the southwestern United States on February 26, 2023.

“In late February 2023, a sprawling storm system that brought rare snowfall to parts of California also fueled violent thunderstorms and tornadoes in the Southern Plains,” says NASA.

“In the wake of the cold front, strong winds lofted a huge amount of dust into the air and darkened skies across parts of northern Mexico, eastern New Mexico, and northwestern Texas.”

Wind gusts exceeded 70 miles per hour in Lubbock, and a gust of 114 miles per hour was recorded in Memphis, Texas. The massive storm reduced visibility as parts of West Texas were completely blanketed in dust. 

The photo was captured by the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 16 (GOES-16), which is operated by NOAA.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/ NOAA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Editor

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