Severe thunderstorms in the Northeast US
We issued 7 Tornado Warnings today, the most we’ve ever issued in a single day or even a whole year until now! #mewx #nhwx pic.twitter.com/x8set1XxOi
— NWS Gray (@NWSGray) July 2, 2017
* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing *
As noted in the Tweet above from NWS Gray/Portland ME, a record number of tornado warnings were issued by that office on 01 July 2017. According to their damage surveys, the tornadoes were rated EF-0 to EF-1, with some straight-line wind damage also seen. GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images with plots of SPC storm reports (below; also available as a 98-Mbyte animated GIF) displayed the overshooting tops and colder cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures associated with some of the thunderstorms. Note the significant offset between cloud-top features and storm reports — this is due to parallax from the large viewing angle of the GOES-16 satellite (which is positioned over the Equator at 105º West longitude).
A comparison of Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 1744 UTC (below) showed the early stages of convective development in far southwestern Maine, in addition to well-developed thunderstorms in eastern New York (which would later move northeastward to produce a swath of heavy rainfall that caused flooding at some locations). Thunderstorm development was fueled by high amounts of moisture that had moved into the Northeast US, as shown below by the Blended Total Precipitable Water product (values in the 40-50 mm or 1.6-2.0 inch range) and the Blended Total Precipitable Water Percent of Normal product (with values in excess of 200%). The hourly evolution of moisture was depicted by the MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below).