While the inches upon inches of snow caused joy, inconvenience and tragedy to millions of people on the East Coast, NASA’s satellites were up above and taking full advantage of their front-row view.

NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite captured to these natural-color images – shown above and below – of Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. in the early afternoon on January 24, 2016.

^{Image credit: NASA}

This image and video, below, were caught on NASA’s Aqua satellite at around the same time at 1:30 p.m. EST on January 24, 2016.

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As NASA explains on its Earth Observatory site, “It is possible that the strength of the storm was amplified by global warming and the record warm temperatures this year.

“Ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic are unusually high this winter, providing a deep well of moisture that was drawn into the storm system. Warmer air masses can carry more water to fall as snow or rain, making extreme snow events more likely even though overall annual snowfall has been dropping in recent decades.”

^{Image credit: NASA}