1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm), Fire Temperature Red-Green-Blue (RGB) + GLM Flash Extent Density (FED) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed the smoke plume and thermal signature of the Pearl Hill Fire — which made a rapid ~50-mile run south-southwestward across northern Washington State on 07 September 2020. During this time, northwesterly winds gusted to 40 knots (46 mph) at Omak... Read More

GOES-16 Visible imagery, above, during the late afternoon on 6 September, shows an invigoration of the Cameron Peak fire in Larimer County, Colorado, with visible evidence of a pyrocumulus development.  Are there tools a forecaster can use to anticipate such extraordinary afternoon fire growth?NOAA-20 overflew Colorado shortly after (NOAA-20 orbits can be... Read More

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), GOES-17 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm), Fire Temperature Red-Green-Blue (RGB) + GLM Flash Extent Density (FED) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed 2 distinct pulses of pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud emanating from the Cameron Peak Fire in north-central Colorado on 06 September 2020. The coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures were -52.4ºC. Smoke was occasionally restricting the... Read More

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), GOES-17 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm), Fire Temperature Red-Green-Blue (RGB) + GLM Flash Extent Density (FED) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed the formation of a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud created by the Creek Fire in Central California on 05 September 2020. The appearance of a few brief GLM FED pixels (2026 UTC | 2117 UTC)... Read More