Hurricane Gustav underwent a period of rapid intensification during the daytime hours on 30 August 2008 (as seen on a plot of the CIMSS Advanced Dvorak Technique), reaching Category 4 intensity. AWIPS images of the GOES-12 10.7 µm IR channel (above) revealed an impressive eye structure on 30 August,... Read More

Hurricane Gustav rapidly intensified into a hurricane on 26 August 2008 (less than 24 hours after the first advisory was issued). As noted by the National Hurricane Center’s Gustav discussion number 6:HURRICANE GUSTAV DISCUSSION NUMBER   6 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL   AL072008 1100... Read More

On the current operational GOES-11 and GOES-12 satellites, data losses occur for several hours each day during the weeks centered around the Spring and Autumn equinox due to (1) Keep-Out Zones (KOZ), and (2) Eclipse. During KOZ, sunlight impinging upon the optical path of the instrument detectors requires the GOES... Read More

After passing over Key West on 18 August, Tropical Storm Fay made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the Florida peninsula on 19 August 2008. GOES-12 IR imagery from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (above) showed that Fay... Read More