Second Blizzard Strikes U.S. East Coast

Second Blizzard Strikes U.S. East Coast

The second blizzard in less than a week pounded the U.S. East Coast on February 9–10, 2010. Federal government offices in Washington, D.C., remained closed for four consecutive days as locals skied past the city’s monuments.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on February 11, 2010. Compared to the previous storm, this snowstorm affected areas farther north, particularly in New York. Snow cover thins in southeastern Virginia, but snow cover appears unbroken to the north.

New York City public schools closed for only the third snow day in six years. Crews worked furiously to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses in New Jersey. Some 200 vehicles sat abandoned on I-78 in eastern Pennsylvania as snow fell at a rate of roughly 2 inches (5 centimeters) per hour.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.

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