McIDAS images of GOES-13 0.63 µm visible channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed the smoke plumes emanting from a number of large wildfires that were burning in parts of Idaho on 24 August 2012. Note that some of the low-altitude smoke was being channeled southward through valleys... Read More

GOES-14 is in SRSOR operations today and was well-positioned to monitor the flooding rains that occurred in Las Vegas (which received a daily record 1.65 inches of rainfall). The animation above shows cold cloud tops northeast of Las Vegas, with more convection moving in from the southwest. Click here for a large (85... Read More

Water clouds, such as those that develop when fog and low stratus form, have different emissivity properties at short IR wavelengths (around 3.9 µm) compared to longer IR wavelengths (around 11 µm). At shorter IR wavelengths, water cloud do not emit as blackbodies, meaning less radiation is emitted than is... Read More

A comparison of AWIPS images of the Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band (DNB), the 11.45 µm IR channel, and the 11.45-3.74 µm “fog/stratus product” (above) showed well-defined signatures of the aurora borealis (or “Northern Lights”) across central Canada on 09 August... Read More