Beginning on 23 August, the GOES-10 satellite was placed into continuous Super Rapid Scan Operations (SRSO) mode, providing images at 1-minute intervals over a limited region of the US. 02 October was the final day of GOES-10 SRSO, and some of the interesting features that were apparent on the visible channel imagery included:

(1) a distinct “aircraft dissipation trail” (10 MB QuickTime animation, above) running north-south through a patch of cloudiness located over northeastern Kansas. GOES-12 10.7 micrometer cloud top temperatures in that particular cloud feature were in the -25 to -35 C range, and GOES Sounder Cloud Top Heights were generally 25-30 Kft, suggestive of cirrus clouds that were likely composed of ice particles; the MODIS Cloud Phase product a few hours later did in fact indicate mostly ice phase in that area of cloudiness as it moved eastward across the Kansas/Missouri border region. Small particles in the aircraft exhaust may have acted as effective ice condensation nuclei, causing the cloud ice particles to grow and begin falling out of the cloud (creating the aircraft dissipation trail signature);

(2) morning dissipation of valley fog (12 MB QuickTime animation, above) over parts of the central Appalachian Mountains region (map overlay);

(3) development of severe convection over northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin (36 MB QuickTime animation, above) which produced numerous reports of heavy rain, hail, and damaging winds (SPC storm reports).

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Westerly winds during the past 2 days (in the wake of a cold frontal passage) have helped to intensify the upwelling of cooler water along the Wisconsin shore of Lake Michigan. The 1-km resolution AWIPS MODIS Sea Surface Temperature product (above) indicated water as cold as 46.1 F (7.8 C) near Sheboygan, Wisconsin (compared to water temperatures of 60-65 F [15-18 C] in central portions of Lake Michigan). This upwelling was also evident on the 4-km resolution GOES-12 10.7 µm IR channel data, which showed brightness temperatures as cold as 46.4 F (8 C) in that same region. Areas of upwelling bring cooler, nutrient-rich water to the surface, which enhances the growth of photosynthetic algae (as seen by the blue-green hues in the corresponding MODIS true color image).

And while we’re on the topic of cold water…check out the evolution of the intricate structure of the marine layer stratocumulus clouds over the California Current (large-scale animation | close-up animation)!

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Signs of the Autumn season show up nicely on MODIS true color imagery (above): snow cover is gradually becoming established in parts of the northern and central Rocky Mountains, as well as the northern Black Hills of South Dakota (close-up MODIS images centered at Denver, Colorado and Rapid City, South Dakota) — the snow cover is confirmed by the dark red enhancement in the MODIS false color image (below), which uses the near-IR Band 7 to detect a strong ice signal. In addition, the amber hues of Fall tree color are beginning to increase across the UP of Michigan (photo) into north-central Wisconsin (close-up MODIS image of Wisconsin). The amber colors of the vegetation across much of northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota are due to harvested corn and wheat fields that are now dormant.

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A 200-image animation (29 MB QuickTime movie, above) of Super Rapid Scan Operations (SRSO) GOES-10 visible channel imagery shows the development of supercell thunderstorms at 1-minute intervals across northern Arkansas and southern Missouri between 17:00 and 22:07 UTC (12:00 Noon and 5:07 PM local time) on 22 September. During that time period, this particular convection produced softball-size hail (4.25 inches in diameter) and multiple tornadoes across southern Missouri (including one producing F4 damage near Crosstown), and 3.0 inch diameter hail in northern Arkansas (SPC storm reports). Heavy rainfall and flash flooding was also reported, with 10.16 inches of rain falling at Myrtle, Missouri (near the Missouri/Arkansas border). Additional details on these storms are available from the St. Louis MO and Springfield MO NWS offices.
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An AWIPS MODIS/GOES comparison of the InfraRed (IR) and visible channel images around 19:30 UTC (below) shows well-defined enhanced-v signatures on the IR “window channel” imagery. At that time, the IR cloud top temperatures in the vicinity of the overshooting tops over northern Arkansas were as cold as -86 C on the 1-km resolution MODIS IR data, versus -68 C on the 4-km resolution GOES IR data. A 100-image QuickTime animation of the GOES-10 IR window channel imagery shows the evolution of the various enhanced-v signatures during the 17:45-20:19 UTC time period (12:45-3:19 PM local time).

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