GOES-12 RGB composite images (above, using the visible and 3.9 µm shortwave IR channels) revealed a cluster of “hot spots” (red-enhanced pixels) and a large smoke plume drifting east/northeastward from a large grass fire located about 30 miles southeast of Fort Stockton, Texas on 01 May 2008. This fire — known as... Read More

A series of mid- to late-April MODIS true color images from the SSEC MODIS Today site (above) reveals that many of the lakes across northern Minnesota were still ice-covered as of 29 April 2008. According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, the “ice-out” (or melting) of lakes across northern Minnesota this Spring season is delayed... Read More

Severe convection along an advancing cold frontal boundary was responsible for several tornadoes and reports of damaging winds across southeastern Virginia on 28 April 2008 (SPC storm reports | Wakefield, Virginia NWS forecast office storm report). AWIPS images of the GOES-12 10.7 µm IR channel data (above) showed that cloud top brightness temperatures began to cool into the -55 to... Read More

AWIPS images of the MODIS visible channel, 1.6 µm near-IR “snow/ice” channel, and Land Surface Temperature (LST) product (above) depicted a broad swath of heavy snow on the ground across parts of eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota on 26 April 2008. Snowfall amounts included 19.0 inches at Watertown, South... Read More