Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images (above) revealed a large area of cold surface infrared brightness temperatures across much of the North Slope of Alaska on 04 February 2021 — with the coldest IR temperature being -56ºC (darker shades of violet) about 30 miles south-southeast of Umiat (PAUM)... Read More
As an anomalously-deep 500 hPa low began to move inland over Southern California during the 23 January – 24 January 2021 period, GOES-17 (GOES-West) Air Mass RGB images (above) showed a compact Potential Vorticity (PV) anomaly approaching the coast — and the RAP40 model indicated that the “dynamic tropopause” (defined here as the pressure of the... Read More
GOES-17 (GOES-West) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images which included Pilot Reports (PIREPS) of turbulence (above) revealed a diverse variety of gravity waves across much of Northern California on 19 January 2021. Three types of waves were prevalent: (1) quasi-stationary mountain waves caused by strong northeasterly flow interacting with topography of the Sierra... Read More
GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) displayed cloud streets across the Bering Sea — cloud features that frequently occur in areas with a strong flow of cold air over warmer water. This northerly flow of cold air across the Bering Sea was due to a strong pressure gradient between... Read More
