Cold air over the Great Lakes (see the plot of 850-mb temperature from RAOB stations at 1200 UTC below; note the similarity in temperatures and wind speeds over the Great Lakes states) means Lake Effect Snow. The animation above (source) shows snow bands over western lower Michigan and also downwind... Read More

GOES-West imagery centered over the Samoan Islands, shown above in an animation, shows a region of rich moisture surrounding those islands (purple in the enhancement, which suggests values or 2-2.2″), but the islands themselves are within a dry pocket (TPW values closer to 1.7″, orange/rust in the enhancement used). Total... Read More

GOES-18 airmass RGB imagery, above (created using geo2grid software), shows the development of a hurricane-force low to the west of Washington and Oregon on the 19th of November. The orange and purple colors in the RGB suggest a significant intrusion of stratospheric air. That air is rich in ozone, and... Read More

Mostly clear skies over the Great Lakes early on 18 November allowed for good satellite estimates of Lake Surface temperatures. They are, in a word, very warm. The toggle above compares estimates from NOAA-20 and from GOES-16. The stepped animation below (source) compares November 17th values this year with those... Read More