The Heensche Molen area of The Netherlands glows white with snow in a satellite image captured on Jan. 19, 2017.

(NASA Earth Observatory)

At a Glance

Snowfall in the Netherlands made for odd satellite images when it appeared in one isolated spot.Researchers believe fog-induced snow is behind the peculiar precipitation.

Snowfall in the Netherlands isn’t out of the norm, but recent satellite images of the country showed quite a puzzling scene.

While a neighborhood in the country was dusted with snow, the area around it was left untouched.Only a few dozen fields in the town of Heensche Molen in the Netherlands , according to NASA. The Netherlands and Belgium saw a freckle pattern dusting of snow, which scientists at NASA say are a sign of the rare and somewhat obscure phenomenon of fog-induced snow.

It’s possible that with localized, patchy fog in the southern Netherlands and temperatures falling into the 20s that small bursts of snow fell in the morning, according to weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Belles.

While there’s no formal scientific term for this weather event, researchers are familiar with how it occurs.

Fog-induced snow typically forms next to industrial sites, NASA also said. Water vapor and other gases released by big chimneys form particles, which can create fog. These emissions can also create snow when the weather gets cold enough.

The Heensche Molen area of The Netherlands is dusted with snow in a satellite image captured on Jan. 19, 2017. The surrounding areas remained curiously untouched.

(NASA Earth Observatory)

(PHOTOS: )

A similar occurrence took place in December 2007 when a cold fog over the Netherlands developed into a thick stratus cloud.

At the time of the event, MeteoGroup Netherlands researcher Wim van den Berg said that a mixing within the fog caused the temperature to drop gradually to 25 degrees throughout the cloud. This drop in temperature caused additional condensation to form into tiny water droplets, as well as ice crystals.

This type of mixed cloud triggers the cold rain process in which ice nuclei grows at the expense of water droplets and creates small snowflakes as a result.

In 2007, the area saw really large snowflakes and a snow depth of 1.2 to 2 inches, added van den Berg. The researcher told NASA he believes this is what happened with the recent isolated snow in the area.

“After many days with fog and/or low clouds and subfreezing temperatures, on Jan. 17, several places reported snow,” van der Berg told NASA. “It was very local, mostly west of industry.”

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: January 2017 Europe Snow

In this picture taken on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017, a man passes behind a frozen glass of a mountain hut, on Vodno Mountain, South of Skopje, Macedonia. Snow and freezing temperature as low as -28 degrees Celsius (-18 Fahrenheit) chained this Balkan country during the weekend. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)