How do you cripple 2/3 of the United States with a storm system? Just by looking at a satellite image of the blizzard that struck this week will give you an answer. The National Weather Service called this a storm of "historic proportions" with heavy snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. The image below, courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory and the NOAA GOES 13 satellite, shows the extent of the storm. It measured 1,240 miles (2,000 km) across in the image. Though Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, indicating spring is on the way, the people of Chicago may disagree.

Cold air from Canada clashed with warm moist air from the Gulf to create the powerful storm. According to the NASA Earth Observatory, at least 21 states reported snowfall in excess of 5 inches by Groundhog's Day, February 2nd. The event was even more widespread than the Snowmageddon storm of 2010. States reporting 10+ inches of snow include:

• Connecticut
• Massachusetts
• Indiana
• New York
• Maine
• New Hampshire
• Ohio
• Vermont
• Iowa
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Wisconsin
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Oklahoma

Chicago may have taken the brunt of the storm for the rest of the country. The 20+ inches of snow and ice set a new record for February and was the third largest blizzard of all time in the city. Chicago's 10 biggest snowstorms are shown below, courtesy of the National Weather Center.

Chicago's 10 Biggest Snowstorms

1. 23.0 inches of snow on Jan 26-27, 1967
2. 21.6 inches of snow on Jan 1-3, 1999
3. 20.2 inches of snow on Feb 1-2, 2011
4. 19.2 inches of snow on Mar 25-26, 1930
5. 18.8 inches of snow on Jan 13-14, 1979
6. 16.2 inches of snow on Mar 7-8, 1931
7. 15.0 inches of snow on Dec 17-20, 1929
8. 14.9 inches of snow on Jan 30, 1939
9. 14.9 inches of snow on Jan 6-7, 1918
10. 14.3 inches of snow on Mar 25-26, 1970

A massive tropical cyclone slammed into Queensland, Australia bringing with it powerful storm surges and heavy rainfall. The category 4 Yasi, named according to the rules of cyclone naming, brought 155 mph (250 kmh) winds to the area. The eye of the storm crossed into Australia at around 1:00 am (Australia time).

The Midwest and the Northeast are in for another round of snow and ice this week. With crippling temperatures, heavy snow, a possibility of winter tornadoes, and freezing rain, FEMA is encouraging residents to get ready for the storm. The ready.gov site is available to assist people in planning for the storms. Residents are encouraged to make a winter weather safety kit and to prepare for power outages.

Last summer, Pakistan underwent some of the worst flooding ever. More than 20 million people were left homeless or injured in a storm that was not supposed to be there...

The storm began at the Bay of Bengal and soon overwhelmed the area. The monsoon rains were extreme leading to the worst flooding since 1929. Now, according to a University of Washington study, the storm is considered a rogue weather event. The storm extended westward unusually far, dumping rains onto the Himalayas. The excess water then ran into the Indus River causing it to overflow. More than 20% of the land area of Pakistan was under the flood waters at one point according to the study.

President Obama has declared a major disaster for California. The declaration makes California eligible for federal aid in an effort to recover from the severe winter storms that struck the area between mid-December and January. Severe flooding, mudflows, and landslides have plagued California for weeks. Counties included in the declaration are Inyo, Kern, Kings, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Tulare.

New England and many of the mid-Atlantic states are battling yet another winter snowstorm, this time from a tough Nor'easter. For me, this has been one of the most memorable winters to date, mostly because of the persistence of snow on the ground. We have all heard the jokes about the first snows of the year...Beautiful...only to be followed by the not-so-nice comments when the snow will not stop. This year has been different. I don't have official stats on the information, but this is the longest I can remember snow being on the ground for an extended period of time. Where I live, snow usually waxes and wanes like the moon; Sometimes it is on the ground only to melt the next day. To tell the truth, I don't remember any year when the snow has stayed as a covering on the ground this long.

What about your home town? Have you experienced the same thing? Sound off in the comments field below.

Satellites are one of the best technological advances in history for forecasting weather. Satellites can see drought conditions. The data can later be extrapolated to locate famine conditions. Satellites are also responsible for seeing hurricanes as they form. There is no doubt the world's first grainy weather satellite photo was a leap forward in meteorology.

One meteorological condition, however, is harder to see than others. That is flooding. Clouds are the primary reason floods are harder to photograph via satellite. According to NASA's Earth Observatory, in an article by Robert Simmon, severe flooding in Australia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and the Philippines have been particularly hard to photograph. In a series of photo taken over Rio de Janeiro, the cloud cover is especially thick. The clouds are not penetrable by the infrared and visible imagery of the satellites.

The only location where pictures are more possible is in Australia. The larger scale of the flooding made images easier to obtain. The rest of the types of floods were more localized with flash floods and mudflows. That makes them like finding a needle in a 'cloudy' haystack.

Several agencies released their statistics on global average temperatures this week. According to the data, 2010 is statistically the hottest year so far. NASA, NOAA, the National Climatic Data Center and institutions worldwide announced similar findings.

Is this significant? According to the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the answer is "probably not." One year is not as important as looking at a decade of statistics. Some even argue that the baseline for comparison of global temperature statistics is faulted. To address these issues, I have summarized the releases from the various agencies and commented on the reliability of the data - Read the full article The Warmest Year on Record.

One of the strongest La Nina events in recent times may be the cause of the record-breaking floods in Australia. In the image below, you can see the city of Rockhampton, Queensland looking like an island. Highways, the airport, and all of the surrounding area are covered with flood waters. The cause was a slow, steady, and heavy rain that lasted for days. The Fitzroy River banks flooded on January 9, 2011.

Rockhampton is one of many towns suffering with the same flooding problems. La Nina events typically bring heavy rain seasons to Australia. Yet this La Nina is the strongest in more than 50 years. Though I have heard conflicting reports, NBC Nightly News reports 11 people have died and more than 80 remain missing.

The floods are not only slow-onset, but flash flooding videos can be found on the internet with a simple search for "Australia floods". Many of the videos show cars being rapidly washed away by the water. You can also get the Australia weather reports to find the latest precipitation rates.

I am about to present you with a really interesting fact...

A massive snowstorm battered the southern United States this week. The result is a national snow depth map with most every state having at least a dusting of snow. That's right, all but Florida has at least some snow on the ground. Even Hawaii is counted in this statistical analysis. There is currently snow atop Mauna Kea. The National Weather Service reports that 69.4% of the contiguous United States has a blanket of snow on the ground.

The blizzard-like conditions in the south are headed towards the northeast. More than two feet of snow are expected in many regions, including the already battered New York City. This nor'easter is producing large amounts of lake effect snow.