Satellites: NOAA-15 and NOAA-17, part of NOAA's 850km-high (530 mile-high) Polar Orbiting satellites

The Atlantic Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream hits the US around the southern North Carolina coast, and is deflected out towards the deeper ocean.
The warm waters release their moisture which is then blown towards the US mainland by the prevailing air currents.
The "water vapor" view below is comprised of certain infrared wavelengths which show greater amounts of water vapor as lighter areas.
Still other combinations of these infrared wavelengths yield the average temperature--as seen from above--of an area. This shows the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.
Click on the images below for higher-resolution (~100k) versions.