Video: NASA showcases weather and climate events of 2013 as seen from space

A scene from a new NASA video shows Colorado’s West Fork Fire in June 2013 among other area weather and climate events. (NASA / YouTube)

A stunning video released by NASA this week provides a bird’s eye view of some of the Earth’s most significant weather and climate events of last year.

Using images and movies from satellites and the International Space Station, scenes from across the globe are shown in the video titled “Earth from Orbit 2013.”

Colorado and surrounding states however will draw the most attention from many locally.

From their perch high above, imagery of Colorado’s West Fork Fire in June 2013 is seen as well as the effects of the September floods.

To our south, the drought in New Mexico is seen having taken its toll on Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico. The veritable explosion of storm cells that lea to devastation in Oklahoma during a May tornado outbreak are also shown.

Below the video you will find a description of each scene and links to more imagery.

From NASA – Published on Apr 21, 2014:

A fleet of orbiting satellites monitors Earth constantly. The satellites from NASA and other space agencies give us a fresh, wide perspective on things that we can see from the ground — and things that we can’t.

A look back at Earth in 2013 from the viewpoint of orbit reveals the kind of data gathering and technical achievement that are the reason NASA puts Earth-observing satellites in space. A visualization of satellite and computer model data shows how a cloud of dust from the Chelyabinsk meteor moved around the world. NASA satellites measured the intensity of wildfires, the salinity of the oceans and rainfall around the globe — whether it was too little or too much.
To learn more about NASA’s Earth science in 2014, please visit: www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

Imagery used in this video, in order:
Views of a Distant Earth
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…

Earth and Moon
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/…

Current Earth Observing Fleet
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a030000/…

Term3_ISS From Night to Day to Night Again
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEa…

Astronaut View of Fires in Colorado
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natu…

Extensive Ice Fractures in the Beaufort Sea
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…

Dune Movement Around Aorounga
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…

San Francisco Region at Night
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…

Whiting Event, Lake Ontario
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/debrief/ISS…

Dust Plumes over the Mediterranean
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natu…

Mt. St. Helens
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…

El Paso
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD…