1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images along with 5-minute GOES-16 (GOES-East) Fire Power and Fire Temperature products (above) displayed thermal characteristics and the smoke plume associated with the Cherrywood Fire in southern Nevada on 20 May 2021. The maximum 3.9 µm brightness temperature sensed was 138.7ºC — which is the saturation temperature for the ABI Band 7 detectors. The peak Fire Power values exceeded 4000 MW.

A toggle between NOAA-20 VIIRS Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and True Color RGB images at 2014 UTC (overpass times) is shown below.

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GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images created using Geo2Grid (above) showed the growth of numerous large smoke plumes created by wildfires across parts of Manitoba and Ontario on 18 May 2021. A “pyrocumulus jump” was seen in Manitoba (just south of Lake Winnipeg) just after 00 UTC.

Early in the day, a significant amount of ice coverage was apparent in the northern portion of Lake Winnipeg (before becoming obscured by dense smoke plumes). In addition, a line of thunderstorms developed across Saskatchewan and Montana ahead of an approaching cold front.

===== 19 May Update =====

In a toggle between Suomi NPP VIIRS Shortwave Infrared and Day/Night Band images at 0811 UTC or 3:11 AM CDT on 19 May (above), the thermal signature of the large fire between Lake Manitoba and Lake Winnipeg was obscured by a narrow patch of cloudiness, but the bright signature of active fires still burning along the periphery of the original wildfire burn area was apparent in the Day/Night Band image.

The GOES-16 Aerosol Optical Depth product (below) highlighted a plume of smoke aloft — originating from the Manitoba/Ontario fires — moving southward across Quebec, Canada and the Northeast US during the subsequent daytime hours. AOD values were as high as 1.0 within the plume.

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US Space Force EWS-G1 Infrared (10.7 µm) images (above) showed Cyclone Tauktae in the Arabian Sea (just off the west coast of India) as it intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 3 storm on 16 May 2021.

A DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) revealed a fully enclosed eye at 1142 UTC, shortly before Tauktae reached Category 3 intensity at 12 UTC.

===== 17 May Update =====

EWS-G1 Infrared images (above) showed Cyclone Tauktae making landfall along the coast of India around 1745 UTC on 17 May, with a Category 3 intensity (ADT | SATCON).

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1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) displayed the explosive growth of the  Palisades Fire thermal signature late in the day on 15 May 2021. The maximum 3.9 µm brightness temperature sensed was 138.7ºC — which is the saturation temperature for those ABI detectors. The fire prompted evacuation orders in the Topanga, California area.

A time-matched comparison of Shortwave Infrared images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (3.74 µm) and GOES-17 ABI (3.9 µm) at 0918 UTC or 2:18 am PDT is shown below (overpass times of the Suomi NPP satellite). Although a decrease in the fire’s intensity occurred during the subsequent overnight hours, the Shortwave Infrared brightness temperatures sensed by Suomi NPP and GOES-17 at that time were 59.9ºC and 28.1ºC, respectively.

1-minute GOES-17 True Color RGB images created using Geo2Grid (below) revealed a series of “pyrocumulus jump” events (beginning around 01 UTC), when smoke/cloud material was ejected to higher altitudes than the primary smoke plume.

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