AWIPS MODIS imagery revealed widespread condensation trails (or “contrails”) from commercial aircraft flying across the southeastern US on 29 November 2006. These contrails were best seen using the Band 26 (1.3µm) near-IR channel (above) and the Band 27 (6.7µm) water vapor... Read More

Some interesting photos of “hole punch clouds” were captured on 15 November 2006 — the photos (which appeared on the 16 November Spaceweather.com site) were were taken at Stevens Point in central Wisconsin. A QuickTime animation of GOES-12... Read More

It’s straightforward to differentiate between high clouds and the ground in infrared satellite imagery because of large temperature differences. As clouds get closer and closer to the surface, their temperature gets closer and closer to the surface temperature, and brightness temperature differences can become insignifcant. At night, when visible data... Read More

Two interesting semi-linear cloud features were apparent in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands on 06 November: (1) a cloud line to the lee of the Big Island of Hawaii, due to easterly “trade winds” within the marine boundary layer converging after flowing around... Read More