NOAA satellites capture devastating flooding in lower Mississippi Valley

NOAA satellites have captured detailed images of swollen rivers after the recent storm that brought heavy rains and severe floods in the lower Mississippi Valley.

The NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) captured detailed images of swollen rivers and flooding in the lower Mississippi Valley from 800 km (500 miles) above Earth’s surface.

The floods resulted from a storm that brought heavy rainfall across the southeastern United States, leading to at least 10 fatalities over the weekend. The flooding caused significant damage in Kentucky and Tennessee, impacting the Ohio, Tennessee, and Mississippi River valleys. The heavy rain fell on already saturated ground, resulting in historic river flooding, levee failures, and evacuations.

The first image, taken on January 27, shows the condition of local rivers and tributaries before the floods. The second image, captured on February 17, reveals swollen waterways and low-lying areas inundated with floodwaters.

The images were taken by the NOAA JPSS program’s VIIRS instrument, which scans the entire Earth twice daily at a 750 m (2 460 feet) resolution. In the images, light green represents vegetation, brown indicates dry or rocky land, and dark blue signifies lakes, rivers, or standing water.

NOAA-20, NOAA-21, and the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP comprise NOAA’s JPSS program, an advanced series of polar-orbiting environmental satellites.

References:

¹ NOAA Satellites Capture Devastating Flooding in the Lower Mississippi Valley – NOAA – February 19, 2025

Featured image credit: NOAA/JPSS