GOES-13: First Day of Post-Launch NOAA Science Test
07 December 2006 was the first day of the GOES-13 post-launch NOAA science test. The satellite was placed into Rapid Scan Operations mode, to monitor the development of lake-effect snow (LES) bands across the Great Lakes region. GOES-13 visible channel imagery (above) depicted well-defined, persistent LES bands that had developed over Lake Huron (Exeter, Ontario radar) and Georgian Bay (King City, Ontario radar) — a Java animation of GOES-13 visible images shows these LES bands moving inland over southeastern Ontario, where they produced 18-35 inches of snow (including 12 inches in a 3 hour period) in what was one of the worst snowstorms in nearly 3 decades for London, Ontario.
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GOES-13 visible images centered farther to the south (below) revealed a particularly long LES band that was moving off Lake Michigan and drifting southeastward across southwestern lower Michigan, northeastern Indiana, and southwestern Ohio (Java animation). This LES band deposited as much as 11 inches of new snow in southwestern Michigan, with 5-6 inches falling farther downstream in parts of northeastern Indiana. A GOES-13 visible image from the following morning shows several narrow streaks of snow cover (oriented northwest to southeast across Indiana and Ohio), many of which were left by the LES bands seen on 07 December.
