Kármán Vortices, west coast of Africa, Meteosat-12, FCI, 9 March 2026, 12:40 UTC

Image of the week: Swirling cloud patterns near the Canary islands

 

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Kármán Vortices, west coast of Africa, Meteosat-12, FCI, 9 March 2026, 12:40 UTC
Kármán Vortices, west coast of Africa, Meteosat-12, FCI, 9 March 2026, 12:40 UTC

This week’s image of the week focuses on wave-like cloud swirls southwest of the Canary islands. The image was captured by the Meteosat-12 satellite in geostationary orbit, 36,000km above the Earth.

Last Updated

10 March 2026

Published on

10 March 2026

The cloud patterns are known as von Kármán Vortices and are formed over the ocean when islands disrupt the wind flow. The strength of the wind affects the patterns of the swirls.

Von Kármán vortices are named after Theodore von Kármán, the pioneering Hungarian-American physicist and aeronautical engineer.

Kármán Vortices, west coast of Africa, Meteosat-12, FCI, 9 March 2026, 12:40 UTC

Von Kármán vortices image

This image was captured by the FCI instrument onboard Meteosat-12 on 9 March 2026.

The Meteosat weather satellites provide imagery for the early detection of fast-developing severe weather, weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

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Kármán Vortices, west coast of Africa, Meteosat-12, FCI, 9 March 2026, 12:40 UTC

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