DMSP « CIMSS Satellite Blog

Hurricane Gert

August 15th, 2017 | Scott Lindstrom

GOES-16 imagery (all 16 ABI Bands) from 1912-2132 UTC, 15 August 2017 [click to play animation]

GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing

Hurricane Gert, a Category-1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is over the open Atlantic Ocean east of Cape Hatteras. It is close enough to the USA, however, that it is within GOES-16’s CONUS domain where 5-minute sampling is routine. The animation above shows all 16 channels from GOES-16 ABI, every five minutes from 1912-2132 UTC on 15 August 2017. A distinct eye is not apparent in the visible or infrared satellite imagery, but microwave data (from here) suggests an eye is present, at least at times. A comparison of 2035 UTC DMSP-16 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) and 2045 UTC GOES-13 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images can be seen here.

The low-level Water Vapor imagery, below, shows that Gert is south and east of a front along the East Coast. This front should steer the storm to the north and east. Swells from the storm will affect the East Coast however.

GOES-16 imagery Low-Level Water Vapor (7.34 µm) Infrared Imagery from 1832-2137 UTC, 15 August 2017 [click to play animation]

GOES-16 Low-Level Water Vapor (7.34 µm) Infrared Imagery from 1832-2137 UTC, 15 August 2017 [click to play animation]

For more information on Gert, consult the website of the National Hurricane Center, or the CIMSS Tropical Weather Website.

GOES-16 ABI Imagery from the morning on 16 August 2017, below, shows that an eye has appeared in visible and infrared imagery.

GOES-16 imagery (all 16 ABI Bands) from 1117-1337 UTC, 16 August 2017 [click to play animation]

Posted in DMSP, General interpretation, GOES-13, GOES-16, Other Satellites, Tropical cyclones | No Comments »

Hurricane Dora

June 26th, 2017 | Scott Bachmeier

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

** GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing **

Dora became the first hurricane of the Eastern Pacific 2017 season on 26 June, and was also the first hurricane to be sampled by GOES-16. On Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above), Dora displayed an improving appearance as the day progressed — mesovortices were seen within the eye on Visible imagery, while the overall eye/eyewall structure improved as the eye diameter increased on Infrared Window imagery.

Early in the morning, a comparison between DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) and GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed that a well-defined eye was more apparent on microwave imagery. Dora was moving over fairly warm Sea Surface Temperatures, and was also in an environment characterized by low values of deep-layer wind shear.

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) and GOES-15 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Posted in DMSP, GOES-15, GOES-16, Satellite winds, Tropical cyclones | No Comments »

Tropical Storm Arlene

April 20th, 2017 | Scott Bachmeier

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 um, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 um, right) images [click to play animation]

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 um, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 um, right) images, with hourly ship reports when available [click to play animation]

** The GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing. **

A comparison of GOES-16 Visible (0.64 um) and Infrared Window (10.3 um) images (above) showed the development of Tropical Storm Arlene in the Atlantic Ocean on 20 April 2017. Arlene has been one of only two tropical storms to be observed in the Atlantic Basin during the month of April in the satellite era.

A DMSP-15 SSMI Microwave (85 GHz) image from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) revealed the formative stage of a convective ring around the core of Arlene at 1654 UTC.

9below DMSP-15 SSMI Microwave (85 GHz) image [click to enlarge]

The MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below) showed that Tropical Depression 1 / Arlene was embedded within a plume of modest TPW (30-40 mm) which was wrapping into a large mid-latitude cyclone to the west.

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product, with surface analyses [click to play animation]

Posted in DMSP, GOES-16, Tropical cyclones | No Comments »

Cyclone Debbie makes landfall in Queensland, Australia

March 28th, 2017 | Scott Bachmeier

Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation]

Cyclone Debbie formed in the Coral Sea on 22 March 2017, and eventually intensified to a Category 3 storm (ADT | SATCON) as it moved southward toward Australia. Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the eye of Debbie as it was making landfall in Queensland, near Prosperpine (YBPN).

Landsat-8 false-color, with Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to enlarge]

The Landsat-8 satellite made an overpass of the eye at 2358 UTC (above), as a large convective burst had developed within the northern semicircle of the eyewall (which was also evident in the corresponding Himawari-8 Visible and Infrared Window images viewed using RealEarth).

Himawari-8 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) and GMI Microwave (85 GHZ) Images around 1430 UTC on 27 March [click to enlarge]

Debbie was undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle as the storm center approached the coast — this was evident in Microwave (85 GHz) images from GMI at 1425 (above) and SSMIS at 2017 UTC (below) from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site.

Himawari-8 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) and DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) images around 2017 UTC on 27 March [click to enlarge]

The MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below; also available as an MP4 animation) showed copious tropical moisture associated with Cyclone Debbie, which led to rainfall accumulations as high as 780 mm (30.7 inches) — with rainfall rates up to 200 mm (7.9 inches) per hour — and record flooding along the coast from Brisbane to Lismore.