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Snow and Ice Cover - Map Viewer

Snow Cover Maps

How much of the Northern Hemisphere is covered with snow and ice today? How has that changed over the satellite record?

Daily maps, charts, and animations show the extent of snow and ice over the contiguous United States, Alaska, or the whole Northern Hemisphere. You can explore sequences of images to see how snow and ice cover grow and shrink over a year or change from decade to decade.

Where do these data come from?

Instruments on satellites measure the reflectance of Earth's surface in various wavelengths every day. Snow and ice have a recognizable pattern of reflectance, so the satellite data can be processed to show where snow and ice are present. 

  • What can I do with these data?

    Access static daily images or download images to generate animations showing how the extent of snow and ice changes in response to storms or the progression of seasons

    How do I use the site? 

    1. Start at https://usicecenter.gov/Products/ImsCharts 
    2. To view daily maps from the current year, click one of the links under your region of interest.
    3. To view daily maps from previous years, click the Archive button to the right of your format of interest. Note that images are numbered with the year followed by the Julian Date, essentially counting the number of days of the year from January 1 (Julian date = 001) to December 31 (Julian date = 365).
    4. Right-click any image to download it. You can use image software or websites to generate animations from the single images.
  • Data Format(s)
    Other
    Access Type Link & Description
    Visualization
    Snow and ice cover map images and animations
    Daily maps showing snow cover (white) and ice extent (yellow) over various extents in GIF format.
  • Documentation Type Link & Description
    General
    USNIC Product Catalog - IMS Snow and Ice Charts Overview
    A listing of products and services available to external customers. Includes a description, coverage area, parameters analyzed, sources, output format, dissemination, and customers.
  • NSIDC - Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis
    Scientific analysis on current Arctic sea ice conditions with daily images, an overview of conditions in context, and links to data and analysis tools.
  • Data Type
    Satellite
    Essential Climate Variables
    Sea ice,
    Science Organization
    U.S. National Ice Center - Naval Ice Center
    Email
    nic.cdo@noaa.gov

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