I saw this image from the Swat Valley in August, and I was stunned . Not for what is in the foreground, I was in the Big Thompson Flood in 1976. I know what happens when it rains like hell in the mountains. What struck me are those mountains in the background. That is the Hindu Kush . These two pictures were shot in the last week of July (left), and from the same spot 3 weeks later. Look at all that missing snow.

At the time, it occurred to me that the Modis Terra satellite would show this record event even better . Three months later I took the time to go look , and do some more "before and after" images. Again I am stunned.

In the top center of the image from Wikipedia there is a lake with a very usual shoreline. That lake is in the upper right hand corner of the first set of Modis "before and afters". >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

These Modis "before and afters" start there, and drop down in 3 steps toward Pakistan and the Indus Valley. They are from July 26, 2010 , and August 16, 2010. the image is true color, and is 250 meters per pixel. They are Modis 2010207, and Modis 2010230.

The average altitude of these mountains is 14,700 feet. When it was raining in the valleys it also was raining on all these snowfields, and glaciers. The links to full size images are under each of the smaller ones shown here on the right. Notice how much is missing as you move south. These rains melted a massive amount of snow, on some very high mountains.