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Large hail in Argentina

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm, bottom) images, with hourly surface reports (metric units) for Córdoba, Argentina [click to play animated GIF — MP4 also available]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the development of severe thunderstorms which produced very large hail in the Córdoba, Argentina area on 08 February 2018. Distinct above-anvil cirrus plumes were evident on the Visible imagery, with pulses of overshooting tops exhibiting Infrared brightness temperatures in the -70 to -80ºC range (black to white enhancement). The hail reportedly began around 1930 UTC or 4:30 PM local time. [Note: there is evidence that large hail produced by the northernmost storm may have set a new world record for size]

The above-anvil cirrus plumes could also be seen in GOES-16 Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images (below).

GOES-16 Near-Infrared

GOES-16 Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images, with hourly surface reports (metric units) for Córdoba, Argentina [click to play animated GIF — MP4 also available]

An Aqua MODIS True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image viewed using RealEarth (below) showed the thunderstorm just west of Córdoba around 1850 UTC. One of the largest hailstones was observed in the western suburb of Villa Carlos Paz.

Aqua MODIS True Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

Aqua MODIS True Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

According to the Worldview site, the coldest Aqua MODIS cloud-top infrared brightness temperature at that time was -78ºC (below).

Aqua MODIS True-color and Infrared Window (11.0 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Aqua MODIS True-color and Infrared Window (11.0 µm) images [click to enlarge]

A time series plot of surface observations at Córdoba (below) showed the warm temperatures and high dew points prior to the arrival of the thunderstorms; there were a number of hail reports between 19 UTC and 02 UTC (4 PM to 11 PM local time).

Time series of surface observations at Córdoba, Argentina [click to enlarge]

Time series of surface observations at Córdoba, Argentina [click to enlarge]


Categories: Aqua, GOES-16, MODIS, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Severe convection