World's destructive storms timelapsed

2017: Year of clouds captured in 11 minutes

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – This mesmerizing timelaspe of clouds covering the planet throughout 2017 shows a destructive year of weather. Hurricane Irma blows across the Caribbean before slamming across Florida and the 11-minute animation shows tracks of Harvey and Maria.

A newly published animation by Europe's EUMETSAT combines imagery from their geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites along with NOAA, and the meteorological agencies of China and Japan. Together, these satellites continuously observe the Earth's surface 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Storms wreaked havoc in communities around the globe as typhoons and cyclones swirled through the Pacific and Indian Oceans. 

Satellite imagery highlights how clouds change their behavior between winter and summer, as well as the contrasting patterns in the tropics. 

You can even see how the snowpack retreats from the United States into northern Canada as the winter season warms into July.

Dr. Mark Higgins narrates the animation and explains some of the major weather events that occurred in 2017, and the challenges weather forecasters face to provide accurate information to help save lives and mitigate losses.


About the Author:

After covering the weather from every corner of Florida and doing marine research in the Gulf, Mark Collins settled in Jacksonville to forecast weather for The First Coast.