5-minute PACUS Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Visible images (above) showed the hazy signature of resuspended volcanic ash (remaining from the 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens) that was being lofted from the surface by strong east-southeast winds — which were gusting as high as 38-42 mph at nearby RAWS sites — and being... Read More

The Great Lakes have a significant amount of thermal mass, meaning it takes a long time for them to cool down as the seasons change from summer to autumn. Often during this time of year, the air overlying the lakes is warmer than the lakes themselves. As water evaporates from... Read More

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Visible and Infrared images (above) showed the westward motion of of Hurricane Kiko during an 8.5-hour period as the tropical cyclone was rapidly intensifying (SATCON) from a Category 2 storm at 1500 UTC on 03 September 2025 to a Category 3 storm at 1800 UTC and... Read More

Driven by a dry summer, numerous fires have been ignited in the Pacific northwest of the United States and far southwestern Canada. These fires were largely ignited by lightning from late summer storms, but continued drying in the area has both increased susceptibility to fire while also preventing rain from... Read More