The animation above, of the Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB, shows bands of snow showers/squalls rotating cyclonically through northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, to the south of a strong cyclone over northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario (link to map from 1800 UTC on 18 February). The tops of these clouds are fairly low — in the RGB they have a periwinkle color in contrast to the orange/red color of the higher cirrus to the south. The RGB also allows for good contrast between the clouds and the clear snow-covered grounds (with greenish tones) to the west.

A potency of the upper air system supporting the surface cyclone is highlighted in the Ozone Anomaly fields from gridded NUCAPS data, shown below. Anomalies of 120-140 dobson Units are present.

The National Weather Service in Duluth MN issued a series of Snow Squall Warnings; the first one, valid until 1945 UTC, is shown below (taken from this tweet); sequential tweeted Warnings are here (valid until 2015 UTC), here (valid until 2100 UTC), here (valid until 2145 UTC) and here (valid until 2215 UTC). (Note, WFO ARX — in Lacrosse, WI, is issuing Snow Squall warnings for this system as well!)

Three radars for this event are shown below: 1907, 1937 and 2007 UTC.

VIIRS imagery (available from the CIMSS LDM feed) over the Duluth Area afforded a high-resolution view of this event. The toggles below show True and False Color imagery at 1838 UTC (from Suomi NPP) and at 1929 UTC (from NOAA-20) At 1838 UTC, the clouds producing the snow — between Moose Lake and Floodwood — do not stand out. They are much more noticeable in the 1929 UTC image, southeast of Duluth and northwest of Solon Springs.

---

What was the effect on visibility? That is shown in the animation below with a 10-minute time step. Note how Duluth goes from southwesterly winds with light snow and 5- to 10- mile visibility to strong northwest winds (gusts to 45 knots) and reduced visibilities as the squall moves through.

---

As this front moved through southern Wisconsin, it generated lightning, as shown in the animation below (from this website).

View only this post Read Less

A storm named Eunice has developed over the British Isles and is causing severe winds, up to 122 mph observed at the surface. The storm is associated with a very active jet stream in the North Atlantic. Eunice follows another storm, Dudley, that hit England, Ireland, and Scotland on Wednesday 2/16/22 and brought heavy winds and flooding.

#SATELLITE SPOTLIGHT: Europe's #Meteosat11 has been tracking a powerful system moving across the British Isles today. One of the worst storms to hit the U.K. in a generation, #StormEunice is producing a large storm surge, winds up to 100 mph, and widespread power outages. pic.twitter.com/tKZw9QHCZF

— NOAA Satellites – Public Affairs (@NOAASatellitePA) February 18, 2022

#StormEunice as it approached Ireland overnight.https://t.co/Xg3aMJlyuS pic.twitter.com/P3dwoBffCD

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) February 18, 2022

---

ECMWF produced a short write-up on this storm, and two others that week (link).

View only this post Read Less

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Dust RGB and Split Window Difference (10.3-12.3 µm) images (above) revealed a pulse of blowing dust (or haboob) that was created by strong surface outflow from collapsing thunderstorms near the California/Nevada border on 15 February 2022. Much of this wind-lofted dust (appearing as brighter shades of magenta in Dust RGB images, and brighter shades of yellow to green in Split Window Difference images) was then channeled southward through the lower elevations of Death Valley, California — reducing the visibility to zero and causing power outages (Local Storm Report).

A toggle between GOES-16 Dust RGB and Split Window Difference images at 2156 UTC (along with topography) is shown below.

The blowing dust was also evident in GOES-16 True Color RGB images created using Geo2Grid (below) .

Yes! It is a haboob and we actually spotted it on our visible satellite imagery as well! Dust storm warning continues for eastern Inyo County including Death Valley NP! #cawx https://t.co/OCLVnRHETf

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) February 15, 2022

View only this post Read Less

The sharp eye of Rick DiMaio notes a change in Lake Erie ice coverage from a port in Ontario and then around Long Point. Information from this website suggests this is the tanker Algonorth! Follow this ship today at your favorite website that shows GOES-16 animations! For example: CSPP Geosphere ; CIRA Slider. (Update the times as needed!)

This website (link) can be used to track this ship. Here is the path through 2000 UTC on 14 February 2022, in agreement with the imagery above (and below). The ship (with a draught of 7.6 m) is bound for Sarnia, Ontario (ETA at 1600 UTC on 15 February), on the south shore of Lake Huron where the St. Clair River starts. There is a lot of ice between its present position and there!

An updated loop (through 2126 UTC) is shown below. The obvious wake through the ice becomes much less obvious during the day, suggesting that the ship is passing through thicker and thicker ice.

---

Something similar happened on 15 February as well, with a ship (an icebreaker) leaving Cleveland.

For the second day in a row, a ship track through the Lake Erie ice was revealed by 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector #GOES16/#GOESeast Visible images: https://t.co/YjDhkYqu9m @NWSCLE @NWSDetroit h/t @weatherdak pic.twitter.com/FcCbiZYAJa

— Scott Bachmeier (@CIMSS_Satellite) February 15, 2022

View only this post Read Less