Make a selection from the satellite list above to view the most recent results for the Arctic and Antarctic, MODIS or AVHRR. No images will be displayed until you make a selection.
This page provides near real-time plots of winds over the polar regions derived from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on-board the NOAA-15, -16, -17, -18, MetOp satellites or from the MODIS instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites. The plots show wind vectors obtained using an automated cloud tracking procedure. The MODIS and AVHRR plots for individual satellites are available approximately every 100 minutes, with up to 13 images per day. Each covers only part of the Arctic or Antarctic. For mixed Terra and Aqua MODIS winds, the time interval varies, but will be less than 100 minutes. The UTC time of the middle image of each triplet used in the retrieval is given at the bottom of the figure to the right of the date in the format hhmmss; e.g., 025000 is UTC 02:50:00. Also, check the date!. Time periods later than the current UTC time will be from yesterday. MODIS 1 km data subsampled to 2 km resolution, and AVHRR GAC (4 km) data was used. See the FAQ if you're interested in obtaining the wind data.
See also the direct broadcast MODIS winds. For more general information, see the Polar Winds project page. Don't miss the supporting near real-time products.