Frigid Arctic air blankets northern U.S.
Frigid Arctic air blankets northern U.S.. Today’s Image of the Day comes thanks to NASA’s Aqua Satellite, showing cold Arctic air moving down into the northern half of the United States. The images were taken from December 1st to December 11th thanks to infrared technology from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard the satellite.
On December 7th, the cold Arctic air depicted in purple and dark blue moved down into the Plains reaching Kansas, Colorado, and Missouri. The frigid air then shifted east into the Ohio Valley, and later, the northeastern states.
The Ohio Valley usually refers to the Ohio River Valley or that area that surrounds the legendary river. Some people will use the shorthand of the Ohio Valley to refer specifically to the upper part of the Ohio River Valley rather than the entire course of the River. The largest tributary of the Mississippi River, the Ohio River winds through six states and is 981 miles long. It begins in Pennsylvania and forms borders along Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois.
A detailed Ohio valley map will include major cities like Pittsburgh (PA), Huntington (WV), Cincinnati (OH), Louisville (KY), Evansville (IN), and Paducah (KY) as well as other cities and town in the areas surrounding the river.
The Ohio River formed as a result of flooding of a glacial lake in earlier ages. It connected two now defunct rivers, the Steubenville River and the Amarietta River. This enlarged the previously small Marietta Valley. Over the course of several Ice Ages, the Ohio River drained glacial lakes and was filled with flood waters from melting glaciers until it reached modern era dimensions.
