GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images (above) revealed a number of aircraft “hole punch clouds” and cloud dissipation or “distrail” features drifting eastward across southern Lake Michigan and adjacent states on 20 December 2017. These cloud features were caused by aircraft that were either ascending or descending through... Read More

The Thomas Fire (InciWeb | Wikipedia) began to burn around 0226 UTC on 05 December 2017 (or 6:26 PM Pacific time on 04 December). By 17 December, the fire had burned 270,000 acres — the third largest wildfire on record in California — and caused 1 fatality. An animation of... Read More

GOES-13 (GOES-East) Visible (0.63 µm) images (above) showed a broad swath of snow cover from Louisiana to Virginia on 09 December 2017. Some notable storm total accumulations included 6.5 inches at Kentwood, Louisiana, 7.0 inches at Bay Springs, Mississippi, 12.0 inches at Jacksonville, Alabama, 2.0 inches at Century, Florida, 18.0... Read More

GOES-15 (GOES-West) Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above; also available as an animated GIF) showed the rapid development of wildfires driven by strong Santa Ana winds in Southern California on 05 December 2017. The fire thermal anomalies or “hot spots” are highlighted by the dark black to yellow to red pixels — the initial signature... Read More