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Surface low off the coast of Florida

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and  “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) displayed the development of a small nor’easter-type low off the coast of northeastern Florida on 20 March 2021. Onshore winds kept low clouds/fog and light precipitation along the coast for much of the day — and surface wind gusts were as high as 41 knots at Buoy 41009 just east of Cape Canaveral.

GOES-16 Visible and Infrared images on the following day (below) showed that the surface low had remained quasi-stationary as it transitioned to its occluded phase. Thunderstorm development persisted farther offshore over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream — a few overshooting tops exhibited infrared brightness temperatures of -60ºC and colder.

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and "Clean" Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

The prolonged period of strong winds associated with this low pressure feature induced an upwelling of cooler water, as shown in a plot of Water Temperature at Buoy 41009 (below).

Plot of Water Temperature at Buoy 41009

Plot of Water Temperature at Buoy 41009

Categories: GOES-16