Ireland's climate is normally mild due to the nearby Gulf Stream,
but the waning days of 2000 saw the Emerald Isle's green fields
swathed in an uncommon blanket of white. The contrast between summer
and winter is apparent in this pair of images of southwestern Ireland
acquired by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on August 23, 2000
(left) and December 29, 2000 (right). The corresponding Terra
orbit numbers are 3628 and 5492, respectively.
The year 2000 brought record-breaking weather to the British Isles.
England and Wales experienced the wettest spring and autumn months
since 1766. Despite being one of the warmest years in recent history,
a cold snap arrived between Christmas and New Year's Day. According to
the UK Meteorological Office, the 18 centimeters (7 inches) of snow
recorded at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, on December 27-28 was the
deepest daily fall since 1930.
Prominent geographical features visible in the MISR images include
Galway Bay near the top left. Further south, the mouth of the River
Shannon, the largest river in the British Isles, meets the Atlantic
Ocean. In the lower portions of the images are the counties of
Limerick, Kerry and Cork.
Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team.
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