Storm In The Mediterranean Seen From Space

A nasty looking storm was spotted by a satellite today (Feb. 23) as it spun over the Mediterranean Sea. The cyclonic, counter-clockwise spin of a low pressure system can be seen in this image from the NOAA-19 AVHRR satellite sensor taken on Feb. 23, 2012. This system has brought up to 4 inches (10.2 centimeters) of rain over the last 24 hours to coastal areas in Europe and Africa. NOAA-19 is the last of the POES line of polar-orbiting satellites run by NOAA. Its successor, the Suomi-NPP satellite, was launched late last year and is currently undergoing its check-out phase as the sensors are gradually turned on.