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GOES-14 SRSO-R: Return flow of Gulf of Mexico moisture in eastern Texas; blowing dust and a wildfire in western Texas

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with surface observations [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with surface observations [click to play MP4 animation]

Day 1 of the 01-25 February 2016 test period of GOES-14 Super Rapid Scan Operations for GOES-R (SRSO-R) revealed some interesting features across the state of Texas. During the morning hours, the northward “return flow” of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico could be seen in the form of widespread fog and low stratus across the eastern part of the state on 1-minute interval GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images (above; also available as a large 83 Mbyte animated GIF). Surface reports showed that dew point temperatures were as high as the 60s F along and just inland of the coast. GOES-13 derived products such as the MVFR Probability, LIFR Probability, and Low Cloud Thickness (FLS product training) showed the northward motion of the fog and low stratus during the preceding overnight hours.

During the afternoon hours, GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images (below; also available as a large 91 Mbyte animated GIF) revealed the hazy signature of areas of blowing dust across southwest Texas, both ahead of and also in the wake of a cold frontal passage (surface analyses). Much of the blowing dust ahead of the cold front originated from dry lake beds in northern Mexico, which was then transported northeastward across Texas by strong southwesterly winds (an enhanced visible MP4 animation which shows the blowing dust better is available here). Blowing dust along and behind the cold front restricted the surface visibility to 1.0 miles at Big Spring (KBPG) and 2.5 miles at Midland (KMAF). Also note that early in the animation — beginning at 1800 UTC — there were small convective bands moving northeastward over the El Paso area, which produced light to moderate accumulating snow that reduced surface visibility to 1.0 miles at El Paso and Biggs Army Air Field (KBIF), and 2.0 miles at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (MMCS).

GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with surface reports [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with surface reports [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (below; also available as a large 52 Mbyte animated GIF) showed the “hot spot” signature (darker black to red pixels) associated with a large grass fire which developed in the Big Bend National Park area, beginning around 2300 UTC. The hot spot was seen to diminish not long after the arrival of cooler air (lighter shades of gray) behind the cold front. Surface air temperatures were quite warm in Texas ahead of the cold front, with daytime highs of 91º F at Del Rio (KDRT)  and 95º F — the highest temperature recorded for the day in the lower 48 states — farther to the southeast at Cotulla.

GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Water Vapor (6.5 µm) images (below; also available as a large 57 Mbyte animated GIF) showed a broad ascending belt of moisture curving cyclonically over central and eastern Colorado, where moderate snow and significant accumulations were occurring at a number of locations.

GOES-14 Water Vapor (6.5 µm) images, with surface weather symbols [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Water Vapor (6.5 µm) images, with surface weather symbols [click to play MP4 animation]

A blog post discussing this ascending belt of moisture in more detail can be found here; a YouTube animation of GOES-14 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images is available here.

===== 02 February Update =====

GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

During the subsequent overnight  hours, an undular bore developed along and just ahead of the advancing cold front, as seen in GOES-14 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (below; also available as a large 107 Mbyte animated GIF). A detailed view of the undular bore was also captured at 0859 UTC (3:59 AM local time) on Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images (below).

Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Categories: Air quality, Fire detection, Fog detection, GOES-14, Suomi NPP, VIIRS, Winter weather