This image, taken by the MODIS sensor on the Aqua satellite, shows the temperatures of California and Nevada during a spring heat wave in May 2004. MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) measures the land temperature, which can get much warmer than the air. Notice that the tops of the Sierra Nevada mountains, which were still capped with snow, remain cool, forming a blue line at the California-Nevada border.
Courtesy of NASA