GOES-14 SRSOR: Wildfire in western Nebraska
GOES-14 0.63 µm visible + 3.9 µm shortwave IR images (click image to play animation)
McIDAS images of 0.63 µm visible channel and 3.9 µm shortwave IR channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed a large wildfire that was growing quickly across western Nebraska on 01 September 2012. The GOES-14 satellite was being operated in Super Rapid Scan Operations for GOES-R (SRSOR) mode, providing images at 1-minute intervals.
With the combination of strong southerly winds, low relative humidities, and very dry fuels, the fire grew very quickly — in fact the dark burn scar could be seen advancing northward on the visible channel images. At times the hottest shortwave IR brightness temperatures (denoted by the darker red color enhancement) were at or near the GOES-14 3.9 µm saturation temperature of 338 K.