Connecticut River spews sediment after Irene

One of the most impressive of the satellite images of post-Hurricane Irene flooding effects on the U.S. East Coast was this one. It was taken from orbit by the Landsat 5 satellite on September 2, 2011, nearly a week after Irene drenched New England with rainfall. This is a true-color image of the Connecticut River spewing muddy sediment into Long Island Sound.

This process, by the way, wrecked the region’s farmland just before harvest, according to the Associated Press.

When Irene blew through the U.S. Northeast on August 27-28, 2011, substantial portions of the Connecticut River watershed received more than six to eight inches of rainfall. Several locations received more than 10 inches. Whole towns were cut off from overland transportation – particularly upstream in Vermont, which suffered its worst flooding in 80 years. At a time of year when rivers are usually at their lowest, thousands of people saw their homes flooded, even washed off their foundations.

The flooding that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene inundated farmland in Massachusetts and Connecticut just before harvest time, the Associated Press noted. Crops were drowned under inches to feet of water. The substantial amounts of soil, sediment, and water deposited on land during the flood could also pose trouble for farmers in coming seasons.

Read more from AP: Connecticut Valley Farms Reeling from Irene’s Flooding

Read more about this image from NASA

We’re entering the peak of 2011 Atlantic Hurricane season

Irene’s washout of Highway 12 on North Carolina’s Hatteras Island