Meteosat « CIMSS Satellite Blog

Hurricane Force lows in the North Atlantic Ocean

February 15th, 2020 | Scott Bachmeier

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with plots of hourly surface wind barbs and gusts (in knots) [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images (above) showed the circulations associated with a pair of Hurricane Force low (surface analyses) during the 13-15 February 2020 period. At the limb of the GOES-16 Full Disk view, plots of hourly surface wind revealed gusts in the 70-80 knots range at stations in Iceland — including Keflavik International Airport near Reykjavik and Akurnes along the southeast coast. One site north of Reykjavik recorded a wind gust of 138 knots.

Sequences of VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) and True Color RGB images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP during those same days as viewed using RealEarth are shown below.

Sequences of VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to play animation]

Sequence of VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to play animation]

Sequence of VIIRS True Color RGB images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to play animation]

EUMETSAT Meteosat-11 Water Vapor (6.25 µm) images during the 14-16 February period are shown below. Named “Storm Dennis” by the UK Met Office, the system brought high winds to much of Europe.

Meteosat-11 Water Vapor (6.25 µm) images, with hourly wind barbs and gusts (in knots) [click to play animation | MP4]

Additional information about this event is available on the Satellite Liaison Blog.

Posted in GOES-16, Meteosat, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, VIIRS | No Comments »

Medicane Trudy

November 11th, 2019 | Scott Bachmeier

EUMETSAT Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of surface reports [click to play animation | MP4]

EUMETSAT Meteosat-11 Visible (0.8 µm) images (above) showed the circulation and eye-like feature of Medicane “Trudy” (named “DETLEF” by Free University Berlin) as it moved southeastward across the Mediterranean Sea toward the coast of Algeria on 11 November 2019.

VIIRS True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP (as visualized using RealEarth) are shown below.

VIIRS True Color RGB and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to enlarge]

At 0630 UTC, a northerly wind gust of 52 knots was recorded at Menorca, Spain (LEMH) as the medicane passed near the Balearic Islands — and several hours later as the system moved inland just after sunset, a northwesterly wind gust of 43 knots occurred at Jijel, Algeria (DAAV) at 18 UTC (below).

Time series of surface observation data from Menorca, Spain [click to enlarge]

Time series of surface observation data from Jijel, Algeria [click to enlarge]

Posted in Meteosat, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, VIIRS | No Comments »

Smoke plumes from Saudi Arabian oil facilities

September 15th, 2019 | Scott Bachmeier

VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Visible (0.64 µm) imagery from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 [click to enlarge]

VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Visible (0.64 µm) images from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 (courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) [click to enlarge]

VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Visible (0.64 µm) imagery from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 (above) revealed dark smoke plumes from oil refineries and other facilities damaged by drone strikes early in the day on 14 September 2019.

EUMETSAT Meteosat-8 Visible (0.8 µm) images (below) showed the south-southwestward transport of the smoke plumes. Thick smoke drifted over Al Ahsa (OEAH), and at one point restricted to 2.8 miles.

EUMETSAT Meteosat-8 Visible (0.8 µm) images, with hourly plots of surface reports [click to play animation | MP4]

Before (13 September) and after (14-15 September) True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images from Terra MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS as viewed using RealEarth are shown below.

True Color RGB images from Terra MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS, from 13-15 September [click to enlarge]

A sequence of 3 VIIRS Day/Night Band images from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 (below) showed nighttime views of the smoke plumes, illuminated by the Moon (which was in the Waning Gibbous phase, at 98% of Full).

VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 [click to enlarge]

VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 (courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) [click to enlarge]

A Meteosat-8 Visible animation spanning portions of 14, 15 and 16 September is shown below.

EUMETSAT Meteosat-8 Visible (0.8 µm) images with hourly plots of surface reports, 14-16 September [click to play animation | MP4]

===== 17 September Update =====

Landsat-8 False Color image [click to enlarge]

Landsat-8 False Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

A 30-meter resolution Landsat-8 False Color RGB image (above) showed a number of smoke plumes from oil facility fires that continued to burn on 17 September.

Posted in Air quality, Landsat, Meteosat, MODIS, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Suomi NPP, VIIRS | No Comments »

Cyclone Fani makes landfall in India

May 3rd, 2019 | Scott Bachmeier

EUMETSAT-8 Meteosat-8 Infrared Window (10.8 µm) umages [click to play animation | MP4]

EUMETSAT Meteosat-8 Infrared Window (10.8 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

EUMETSAT Meteosat-8 Infrared Window (10.8 µm) images (above) showed the intensification of Cyclone Fani to a high-end Category 4 storm on 02 May 2019 (ADT | SATCON | PGTW advisory), before eventually making landfall in northeastern India at 0230 UTC on 03 May. During its life cycle, Fani moved over warm sea surface temperature values of 29-30ºC — and deep-layer wind shear of only 5-10 knots on 02 May provided an environment favorable for rapid intensification.

Once inland, Fani was in the process of rapidly weakening to a Category 1 storm as it passed over Bhabaneswar (VEBS), and surface wind gusts to 75 knots were reported at that site (below).

Time series plot of surface observations from Bhabaneswar, India [click to enlarge]

A sequence of VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP as viewed using RealEarth (below) showed snapshots of Fani from 19 UTC on 01 May (over the Bay of Bengal) to 07 UTC on 03 May (after landfall).

Sequence of NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

A comparison of VIIRS True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP on 02 May (below) showed Fani shortly after it had reached Category 4 intensity.

VIIRS True Color RGB and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to enlarge]

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image at 1230 UTC + Meteosat-8 Infrared Window (10.8 µm) image at 1300 UTC [click to enlarge]

A toggle between a DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave image at 1230 UTC and a Meteosat-8 Infrared Window image at 1300 UTC from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (above) showed the eye and totally closed eyewall of Fani when it was at its peak intensity on 02 May. However, the MIMIC TC product (below) indicated that the eastern portion of the eyewall started to erode as Fani approached the coast and began to undergo an eyewall replacement cycle.

MIMIC TC morphed microwave product, 01-02 May [click to enlarge]

On 30 April, VIIRS DayNight Band (0.7 µm) images (below, courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) revealed widespread mesospheric airglow waves (reference) within the western semicircle of the storm, along with numerous bright lightning streaks associated with convection south of the storm center.