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30-second imagery of severe thunderstorms across the Upper Midwest

Overlapping 1-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mesoscale Domain Sectors provided 30-second “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above), which included time-matched plots of SPC Storm Reports — showing clusters of thunderstorms that moved eastward across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Lower Michigan on 03 August 2022.The corresponding 30-second GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (below) indicated that the coldest... Read More

GOE S-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images, with time-matched SPC Storm Reports plotted in red [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Overlapping 1-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mesoscale Domain Sectors provided 30-second “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above), which included time-matched plots of SPC Storm Reports — showing clusters of thunderstorms that moved eastward across parts of Illinois, Indiana and Lower Michigan on 03 August 2022.

The corresponding 30-second GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (below) indicated that the coldest overshooting tops exhibited infrared brightness temperatures around -80ºC (violet pixels within areas of brighter white enhancement). In addition, an animation of 30-second GOES-16 Visible/Infrared Sandwich RGB images is available here.

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images, with time-matched SPC Storm Reports plotted in cyan [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

In a toggle between NOAA-20 VIIRS Infrared (11.45 µm) and GOES-16 ABI “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images valid at 1924 UTC (below), the northwestward shift in GOES-16 image cloud-top features was associated with parallax (which in this case was a distance around 18-19km for the maximum Cloud Top Heights of 50,000-52,000 feet). The coldest NOAA-20 cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures at that time were around -84ºC (over far southern Lake Michigan), compared to around -77ºC with GOES-16 (identical color enhancements were applied to both images).

NOAA-20 Infrared Window (11.45 µm) and GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images valid at 1924 UTC [click to enlarge]

However, in a toggle between NOAA-20 Infrared Window (11.45 µm) and GOES-16 Cloud Top Temperature (CTT) derived product images valid at 1924 UTC (below), the coldest sensed cloud-top temperature values over far southern Lake Michigan were closer (-84ºC with NOAA-20, vs -80ºC with the GOES-16 CTT product).

NOAA-20 Infrared Window (11.45 µm) and GOES-16 Cloud Top Temperature derived product images valid at 1924 UTC [click to enlarge]

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Aerosols blowing from Mount St. Helens

GOES-17 captured ash blowing off Mount St. Helens in Washington State, which erupted over forty years ago. The blowing debris can be seen from the GOES-17 ABI in this true color animation from 13:00 UTC to 16:50 UTC on 8-3-2022. ... Read More

GOES-17 captured ash blowing off Mount St. Helens in Washington State, which erupted over forty years ago. The blowing debris can be seen from the GOES-17 ABI in this true color animation from 13:00 UTC to 16:50 UTC on 8-3-2022.

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GOES-18 is currently serving as GOES-West

Beginning at 1713 UTC on 01 August 2022, GOES-18 began serving as GOES-West during an operational interleave period — so GOES-18 imagery routinely became available in AWIPS. Examples of GOES-18 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images from a combination of the Alaska, Pacific-US (PACUS) and Hawai`i Sectors are... Read More

GOES-18 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Beginning at 1713 UTC on 01 August 2022, GOES-18 began serving as GOES-West during an operational interleave period — so GOES-18 imagery routinely became available in AWIPS. Examples of GOES-18 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images from a combination of the Alaska, Pacific-US (PACUS) and Hawai`i Sectors are shown above.

GOES-18 multi-panel images of the PACUS Sector (below) displayed all 16 spectral bands of the ABI instrument.

GOES-18 multi-panel images of the PACUS Sector [click to play animated GIF |MP4]

A closer view of GOES-18 multi-panel images centered on Tropical Storm Frank is shown below.

GOES-18 multi-panel images of Tropical Storm Frank [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Farther to the north, GOES-18 Visible images centered over Alaska (below) revealed an impressive southwesterly surge of stratus across the Chukchi Sea, which was moving toward the Bering Strait and the coast of Siberia (where some sea ice could be seen along the coast and offshore).

GOES-18 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

GOES-18 ABI data also replaced GOES-17 as GOES-West for users receiving imagery via GRB download. Some examples created by Tim Schmit (NOAA/NESDIS/ASPB) — using GOES-18 imagery downloaded by SSEC Satellite Data Services — are shown below.

This transition to GOES-18 will mitigate the degraded GOES-17 infrared imagery caused by its Loop Heat Pipe cooling issues. The Loop Heat Pipe system was re-designed for the GOES-18 ABI instrument. 

16-panel comparisons of GOES-17 and GOES-18 ABI imagery at 1230 UTC [click to enlarge]

Additional information and examples can be found on the Satellite Liaison Blog.

 

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McKinney Fire in California produces multiple pyrocumulonimbus clouds

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Fire Temperature RGB, “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) and Cloud Top Temperature derived product images (above) showed that the rapidly-growing McKinney Fire in far northern California produced multiple (5 or 6) pulses of pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds late in the day on 30 July 2022. The coldest pyroCb cloud-top 10.35... Read More

GOES-17 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top left), Fire Temperature RGB (top right), “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm, bottom left) and Cloud Top Temperature derived product (bottom right) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Fire Temperature RGB, “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) and Cloud Top Temperature derived product images (above) showed that the rapidly-growing McKinney Fire in far northern California produced multiple (5 or 6) pulses of pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds late in the day on 30 July 2022. The coldest pyroCb cloud-top 10.35 µm infrared brightness temperatures were around -55ºC, while the coldest pyroCb Cloud Top Temperature value was -59ºC.

This wildfire burned very hot — the peak 3.9 µm infrared brightness temperature was 138.71ºC, which is the saturation temperature of ABI Band 7 detectors.

During the subsequent overnight hours, a toggle between NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) images valid at 1039 UTC or 3:39 AM PDT (below) showed the bright nighttime glow and hot thermal signature of active fires around the perimeter of the large McKinney Fire burn scar.  Evacuation orders were in effect for portions of Yreta west of Interstate 5.

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) images valid at 1039 UTC [click to enlarge]

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