NASA's Aqua satellite acquired this image in the early afternoon of Jan. 9, 2014. The image is a blend of shortwave infrared, near infrared and red sensor bands that helps distinguish ice from snow and water. Ice is pale blue (thicker ice is brighter), open water is navy blue, and snow is blue-green.
The intense cold snap that gripped much of central Canada and the United States in early January 2014 brought thick and widespread ice to the Great Lakes.
Though parts of the lakes freeze every winter, several news media and meteorologist accounts suggested that January ice cover was thicker and more widespread than it has been in nearly two decades. The ice cover was hampering ship traffic in the region, according to news reports.
Image courtesy of NASA.
