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A sequence of GOES-16 (GOES-East) Nighttime Microphysics RGB and Day Snow-Fog RGB images (above) showed plumes of “ocean effect” clouds (including a “sound effect” cloud band, originating over Long Island Sound) that produced periods of snowfall from coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island (as well as Block Island) to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket Island and Cape... Read More
GOES-16 Nighttime Microphysics RGB and Day Snow-Fog RGB images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]
A sequence of GOES-16 (GOES-East)Nighttime Microphysics RGB and Day Snow-Fog RGB images (above) showed plumes of “ocean effect” clouds (including a “sound effect” cloud band, originating over Long Island Sound) that produced periods of snowfall from coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island (as well as Block Island) to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket Island and Cape Cod in Massachusetts during the 24 December – 25 December 2022 period — with notable snowfall accumulations occurring across Martha’s Vineyard (NWS Public Information Statement | NOHRSC). The northern edge of the sound effect cloud band only passed over coastal Connecticut and Rhode Island briefly, producing moderate snow at Groton CT (KGON) and light snow at Westerly RI (KWST).
As mentioned in Area Forecast Discussions from NWS Boston, this configuration of a significant Long Island Sound effect snow band was rare, with most of their ocean effect snow events occurring with northerly flow.
An extremely rare and significant snow band has been impacting
Marthas Vineyard this morning on very cold west to southwest
flow. Most of the time our ocean effect snow events are dealing
with northerly flow with a shallow inversion layer and often a
limited fetch. This results in very minor snow accumulations in
most cases. In this situation...rare arctic air invaded the
region on a 240/250 degree wind. The soundings indicate a rather
deep mixed layer up to the inversion at 4-5 thousand feet with
uniform WSW winds. Large temp differentials from the top of the
mixed layer to the SST were on the order of 22C/23C.
A comparison of GOES-16 Nighttime Microphysics RGB, Cloud Top Phase and Cloud Top Height images at 0001 UTC on 24 December (below) showed that the Long Island Sound effect cloud band’s top was composed of supercooled water droplets, with cloud top height values in the 5000-7000 feet range. As this cloud band was passing over Central Long Island Sound Buoy 44039 during the 24-25 December period, strong surface winds caused an upwelling of cooler sub-surface water which reduced sea surface temperatures about 3ºF.
GOES-16 Nighttime Microphysics RGB, Cloud Top Phase and Cloud Top Height images at 0001 UTC on 24 December [click to enlarge]
On 26 December, GOES-16 True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (below) revealed the whiter shades of snow cover across Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket Island and southern portions of Cape Cod — with the lesser snow depths across Nantucket Island and Cape Cod beginning to melt more quickly compared to the deeper snow cover across Martha’s Vineyard.
GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play MP4 animation]
GOES-16 (GOES-East) Day Snow-Fog RGB images (above) showed widespread horizontal convective rolls (HCRs) that were streaming southeastward across much of the north-central US — in the wake of a strong arctic cold front — on 22 December 2022. This HCR signature is often accompanied by significant blowing snow; in fact, many Interstate highways were... Read More
GOES-16 Day Snow-Fog RGB images, with and without plots of hourly surface reports [click to play animated GIF | MP4]
GOES-16 (GOES-East)Day Snow-Fog RGB images (above) showed widespread horizontal convective rolls (HCRs) that were streaming southeastward across much of the north-central US — in the wake of a strong arctic cold front — on 22 December 2022. This HCR signature is often accompanied by significant blowing snow; in fact, many Interstate highways were closed on this day in portions of North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were recorded in South Dakota.
On 23 December, GOES-16 Day Snow-Fog RGB images (below) displayed a long but narrow plume of HCRs that originated over the southern end of Lake Manitoba — which crossed the US/Canada border and streamed across far northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. Surface visibility was reduced to 1/4 mile at some sites in Minnesota where the HCR signature was observed; wind gusts as high as 52 mph were reported across that area.
GOES-16 Day Snow-Fog RGB images, with and without plots of hourly surface reports [click to play animated GIF | MP4]
These blowing snow events occurred during a significant and widespread outbreak of arctic air across much of the Lower 48 states during the 21 December – 23 December period, as an anomalously-deep mid-tropospheric trough descended southward and southeastward from Canada — GOES-16 Air Mass RGB images (below) displayed the beige to pale orange hues that are normally associated with such arctic outbreaks (for example, in January 2019). On the morning of 22 December, two locations in western Montana reported low temperatures of –50ºF (the first occurrence of -50ºF in the Lower 48 states during the 2022-2023 winter season).
GOES-16 Air Mass RGB images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]
Additional details and imagery of this arctic outbreak and associated episodes of blowing snow can be found on the Satellite Liaison Blog.
NOAA‘s GOES ABI has been monitoring the late year cold air outbreak over the contiguous US. Infrared ImageryDuring these extreme cold air outbreaks, it may seem like the infrared imagery “confuses” clouds and the cold ground, but this isn’t the case as the instrument just monitors the heat of the... Read More
NOAA‘s GOES ABI has been monitoring the late year cold air outbreak over the contiguous US.
Infrared Imagery
During these extreme cold air outbreaks, it may seem like the infrared imagery “confuses” clouds and the cold ground, but this isn’t the case as the instrument just monitors the heat of the radiating surface, be it a cold cloud top or cold land (or warmer sea surfaces). More likely, as the case below, a certain temperature threshold is used for the color enhancement, in this case colder than -20C. More imagery, including the CONUS sectors. A still image from 13 UTC on December 23, 2022.
GOES-16 ABI longwave infrared window band, with the coldest pixels color-coded. Several days (December 19-26, 2022) are shown. Click to play animation. GOES-16 ABI longwave infrared window band, with the coldest pixels color-coded. Several days are shown, with one hourly imagery. Click to play animation.
Land Surface Temperature
The Land Surface Temperature is one of the many derived products from the ABI. Both the Full Disk and CONUS sectors are included. Note how the cold air has come from central Canada.
GOES-16 CONUS Land Surface Temperature on December 22, 2022, click to play animation. GOES-16 Full Disk Land Surface Temperature on December 22, 2022, click to play animation.
Cloud Heights
Cloud heights are another derived quantity from the ABI radiances. Most algorithms are able to discern the cold ground from cold clouds.
GOES-16 ABI Clouds Heights for the CONUS sector on December 23, 2022, click to play animation.
It’s very hard to choose just one event from every month of the year, but the goal is to show the range of phenomena and locations that NOAA‘s GOES ABI routinely monitors, in this case during 2022. Most loops generated are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison CIMSS Satellite Blog, which... Read More
It’s very hard to choose just one event from every month of the year, but the goal is to show the range of phenomena and locations that NOAA‘s GOES ABI routinely monitors, in this case during 2022. Most loops generated are from the University of Wisconsin-Madison CIMSS Satellite Blog, which is linked from the top of the entries. Imagery from GOES-16, -17 and -18 is showcased, along with the sectors it scans: Full Disk (10-min intervals), Contiguous US (5-min intervals) and mesoscale sectors (30-sec to 1-min intervals).
GOES-17 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm, right) images [click to play animation]GOES-17 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) Time Difference images [click to play animation]
GOES-16 ABI RGB Composite (Day Cloud Phase Distinction), shows bands of snow showers/squalls rotating through northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin [click to play animation]
The greenish colors show clear, snow-covered ground, the purplish colors the low-clouds (snow squalls), while the orange colors denote high clouds. A direct link to the above mp4 video.
GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play animation]GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top left), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, top right), Fire Power (lower left) and Fire Temperature (bottom right), [click to play animation]
A direct link to the loop showing the smoke plume in Texas with GOES-16 imagery every minute; as well as the 4-panel AWIPS display that included derived fire products.
GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play animation]
GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images revealed dense smoke plumes moving southeastward from wildfires in New Mexico, while blowing dust plunged southward from Colorado/Kansas (along and behind a cold front). The mp4 animation.
A true color composite image, along with all 16 spectral bands of the preliminary, non-operational GOES-18 ABI on May 5, 2022. [click to play animation]
GOES-17 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm, lower) images [click to play animation]
1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images showed the evolution of the eye of Hurricane Darby as it moved westward across the East Pacific Ocean on 11 July 2022. Mesovortices were evident within the eye.
GOES-16 IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) Probability (top panel) and GOES-16 Night Microphysics RGB (lower panel), both with surface observations of ceilings and visibilities, click for animation.
Infrared GOES-16 ABI of Hurricane Ian in 2022 (left) and GOES-12 of Hurricane Charley in 2004 (right). [click to play animation]
The mp4 loop from above demonstrating the great advances in monitoring hurricanes between 2004 and 2022, comparing GOES-16 (on the left) and GOES-12 (on the right). A 16 panel of Hurricane Ian from the ABI showing the range of scales that the ABI monitors in a given image.
GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images [click to play animation]
1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images showed the compact exposed low-level circulation of Tropical Invest 94L as it moved northward away from Bermuda. Satellites are key in monitoring hurricane formations.
GOES-17 Clean Window Infrared (10.3 µm) imagery and quantitative estimates of Ash/Dust Probability, click to play animation16-Panel showing all GOES-18 bands over Hawai’i, click to play animation.
A mp4 loop of the Ash/Dust Probability, as well as the 16 ABI spectral bands. Note there are 2 visible, 4 near-infrared and 10 infrared bands. Satellites are critical for monitoring volcanic ash that can pose a hazard to aviation safety.
Thanks to all who make the satellite imagery possible, the ingest and software to display the imagery (including, but not limited to McIDAS-X, geo2grid, geosphere, Real Earth and AWIPS) and all who generated CIMSS Satellite Blog entries, especially Scott Bachmeier and Scott Lindstrom. Special thanks to Mat Gunshor and Jim Nelson of UW/CIMSS.
