Satellite captures massive storm swirling off Antarctica
Satellite captures stunning swirl at bottom of the globe (H/T @simon_rp84 ) http://t.co/p5zUa874gn pic.twitter.com/TP033kdYnL
— Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) March 5, 2014
A European satellite that flew over Antarctica on Wednesday captured a massive storm churning in the ocean off its northern coast.
The satellite — known as EUMETSAT, which monitors weather and climate from space — was conducting an overflight when it caught the late summer storm with swirling clouds extending thousands of miles from its center.
According to Simon Proud, a postdoctoral associate at MIT's atmospheric, oceanic and climate sciences program, the cloud tail stretches nearly 3,500 miles.
Down near #Antarctica is a nasty looking low - the cloud tail stretches almost 5500km! pic.twitter.com/JJy48uuEUE
— Simon Proud (@simon_rp84) March 5, 2014
Of course, big storms and harsh weather are not unusual for Antarctica, one of the most treacherous and isolated places on Earth.
Earlier this year, a Russian research vessel that was trapped in the ice off East Antarctica for 10 days led to a international effort to rescue the 52 people onboard.
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