January 29, 2023 - First Snow in Morocco

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The first significant snow of the winter topped the heights of
Morocco’s Atlas Mountains on January 26, 2023. The Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite
acquired a true-color image of the scene on that same day.

The small patches of white that decorated the dry, tan landscape were
remnants of a fast-moving snow-and-rain event that crossed the country
on January 24-25. Although skies were clear on January 26, clouds
returned on January 27-28, carrying additional precipitation to much of
central and northern Morocco. These storms were accompanied by a harsh
dip in temperatures, with lows below freezing reported in several
places, including the city of Casablanca, which sits on the coast of
the Atlantic Ocean. In higher elevations, heavy snowfall blocked at
least five different roadways, with most roads shut down in several
locations.

With Morocco suffering from extended and severe drought, any
precipitation—rain or snow and accompanied by cold or not—is profoundly
welcomed. On January 27, Weather Morocco published on its Facebook page
several snow-adorned landscape photos from around the country, along
with a forecast of additional precipitation. The response from readers
expressed nothing but excitement and gratitude. One response read,
“Rain is falling in Rabat, praise be to Allah”, while others exclaimed,
“It’s winter in Meknes, it’s been an hour since it started, praise be
to God”, and “Rains of goodness in Muhammadiyah”. The post that may
have best captured what it means for a desperately dry country to see a
flickering hope of relief may be this simple prayer, “My master, I am
freezing, thank God”.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 1/26/2023
Resolutions: 1km (466.3 KB), 500m (1.2 MB), 250m (890.4 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-01-29

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