This image was acquired by the AVHRR sensor of the NOAA-14 satellite on 1997 Dec 15 19:54 UT (1:54 PM CST). AVHRR channels 1, 2, and 3 were combined as green, red, and blue, channel 3 was reversed to make the snow white (instead of yellow).
The white area is snow on the ground, 8 to 10 inches fell on some areas of central Mississippi, smaller amounts in Louisiana to the west and Alabama to the east. The largest blue patch in the snow covered area is Ross Barnett reservoir on the Pearl River. Jackson Mississippi is seen just to the southwest as a light yellow area. This snowfall was a record for December. It started shortly after midnight on Sunday, December 14 and continued until mid afternoon. It caused power outages and dozens of accidents on slippery roads. One death in Alabama was blamed on the weather. The Mississippi River winds its way down the west side of this image and empties into the Gulf of Mexico at the bottom. Channel 3 is temperature sensitive and since it has been reversed here the blue of the coastal water indicates colder water, the warmer Gulf water to the south appears dark. Color variations on the land are due to vegetation differences.