Cloud Lines Stretch Out Over Florida Coast

NOAA has shared a striking image from space showing long, straight cloud bands moving off the southern Florida shoreline. The picture was taken on February 1 when a cold air mass moved south over the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic, pulling moisture from the warmer sea surface to form neat cloud strips that line up with the wind. These “cloud streets” happen when chilly air slides over warm water, picking up vapor and turning it into low clouds that appear in parallel rows. The effect is most visible when the temperature difference between air and water is large, as it was in Tampa where temperatures dropped to a chilly 30°F (–1°C). The satellite footage looks like the wake of a fast boat, with clear water visible next to the cloud line. That clear stretch shows areas where the air has not yet absorbed enough moisture to create clouds, giving a sharp contrast between clouded and clear zones.The image was captured by the Advanced Baseline Imager on NOAA’s GOES‑19 weather satellite. The satellite orbits at about 22, 236 miles (35, 785 km) above Earth in a geostationary path, meaning it stays over the same spot as the planet turns. This allows it to continuously watch weather across the Americas and parts of Canada, plus many other countries. GOES‑19 was launched on June 25, 2024 by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Its instruments monitor not only storms and ocean conditions that could spawn hurricanes but also solar activity and space weather, which can affect both life on Earth and satellites in orbit. The February photo shows how dynamic the interaction between cold air and warm water can be, turning a simple weather pattern into a beautiful, organized display of cloud lines that science helps us understand.