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What's Keeping Europe So Cold & Snowy?

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France, UK snow cover seen by satellite
France and the United Kingdom lie under a blanket of snow from a 'Russian Winter' in this image taken by NASA's Aqua satellite. (Image credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC)

While much of the United States has been left wondering, "Where's winter?," Europeans have been shivering under a blanket of cold air that has sent temperatures plummeting and snows drifting.

The climate pattern is called a "Russian Winter" because the intense cold and snow is triggered by a strong Siberian anticyclone hovering over northern Russia, according to a NASA statement.

Earlier this month a strong such anticyclone formed, and with a low pressure system over Greenland, it worked to push frigid temperatures across Europe . On Feb. 10, CNN reported that 22 countries had posted warnings for extreme cold temperatures and accumulating snow.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured the above true-color image the snow over France and the United Kingdom on Feb. 11.

The cold has reached as far south as Algeria, bringing a rare snowfall. Even Venice's famous canals froze , a rare feat.

Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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