As an anomalously-deep 500 hPa low began to move inland over Southern California during the 23 January – 24 January 2021 period, GOES-17 (GOES-West)  Air Mass RGB images (above) showed a compact Potential Vorticity (PV) anomaly approaching the coast — and the RAP40 model indicated that the “dynamic tropopause” (defined here as the pressure of the PV1.5 surface) was descending to the 675 hPa pressure level at 18 UTC.

A west-to-east oriented cross section of RAP40 model fields along Line A-A’ (below) depicted the descending dynamic tropopause at 19 UTC.

GOES-17 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images (below) showed the increasing reports of rain and snow that resulted as the PV Anomaly moved inland and provided additional forcing for ascent. Near the coast, thunderstorms were reported at Fulton and Long Beach around 03 UTC. Storm total precipitation amounts included rainfall of 1.40 inch and snowfall of 12-18 inches.

GOES-17 Water Vapor images at 2301 UTC and 0246 UTC (below) revealed sporadic lightning activity (indicated by small clusters of GLM Groups).

===== 24 January Update =====

On the following day, as clouds began to clear the areal extent of resulting fresh snow cover (darker shades of red) was seen in GOES-17 Day Snow-Fog RGB images (above). Even parts of the high desert — north and east of the mountain ranges — received some snowfall (for example, 2-3 inches were reported at Hesperia).

Suomi NPP VIIRS True Color RGB and False Color RGB images (below) showed the snow cover (shades of cyan) at 2036 UTC.

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The AirMass RGB from GOES-16 at 0800 UTC on 20 January 2021 showed a distinct color change across central Missouri, from red to green.  The enhanced red coloring suggests a large difference in water vapor brightness temperatures.  The toggle above (including an image with NUCAPS* sounding points), shows structures in the water vapor imagery consistent with an upper tropospheric front.

Water Vapor and Airmass RGB imagery fields are useful because they be compared to model fields of the tropopause, and similarities in model fields and satellite imagery lend credence to the idea that the model initialization is accurate.  Compare the Airmass RGB and the Rapid Refresh mapping of the pressure on the 1.5 PVU surface below.  There is good spatial correlation between model and satellite fields.

How do vertical profiles from NUCAPS vary across the tropopause fold?  The animation below shows six different profile in Missouri and Arkansas, spanning the reddish region of the airmass RGB.

A more efficient way to view information from NUCAPS is to view gridded fields.  Polar2Grid is used to transform the vertical profile to horizontal fields at the individual NUCAPS pressure levels (and then vertical interpolation moves those fields to standard levels).  The animations below show gridded values that are all in agreement with the presence of a tropopause fold where the Airmass RGB and model fields suggest.  Gridded temperature and moisture can be combined in many ways.  Gridded Ozone is also available in AWIPS (some of these fields were created using the Product Browser).

Ozone from NUCAPS, below, does show an enhancement, as expected, in the region where the tropopause fold is suggested by the airmass RGB.

The gridded NUCAPS tropopause level, shown below, can also be inferred from the individual profiles shown above.

Note how the lapse rates show relatively less stable air (in the mid-troposphere) in the region of the tropopause fold.

Mixing ratio shows dry mid- and upper-tropospheric air, in the region of the tropopause fold, as might be expected from the GOES-16 water vapor imagery.

In general, NUCAPS data can be used to augment other satellite and model data to better understand the thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere.  For more information on NUCAPS profiles, refer to this training video.

*The careful reader will note that the timestamp of the NUCAPS Sounding Availability plot, 0753 UTC, is different from the GOES-16 imagery.  Why?  The NUCAPS Sounding Availability plot is timestamped (approximately) when NOAA-20 initially overflies North American airspace.  NOAA-20 was flying over Missouri shortly after 0800 UTC, as shown in this plot (from this website).  Gridded NUCAPS fields are timestamped when NOAA-20 is overhead.

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GOES-17 (GOES-West) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images which included Pilot Reports (PIREPS) of turbulence (above) revealed a diverse variety of gravity waves across much of Northern California on 19 January 2021. Three types of waves were prevalent: (1) quasi-stationary mountain waves caused by strong northeasterly flow interacting with topography of the Sierra Nevada and Coastal Ranges, (2) long, narrow corridors of fast-moving waves flowing offshore, and (3) west-to-east oriented arcs of waves drifting slowly northward (against the ambient flow). With such disparate wave structures and the intersections of their wave fronts, the prospects for atmospheric turbulence were elevated — in fact, there were a few pilot reports of moderate to severe turbulence, at both low and high altitudes.

GOES-17 Mid-level Water Vapor images with plots of NAM40 model 500 hPa wind streamlines/isotachs at 18 UTC and 00 UTC (below) showed the strong northeasterly flow in the middle troposphere, with speeds as high as 100-110 knots.

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GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images created using Geo2Grid (above) revealed long trails of lee waves extending northeastward from many of the South Sandwich Islands on 16 January 2021. These lee waves were generated by strong southwesterly winds within the marine boundary layer interacting with the topography of the islands — wind speeds had increased across that portion of the South Atlantic Ocean, in response to the tight pressure gradient between high pressure north of the islands and a deepening area of low pressure southeast of the islands (MSLP analyses).

A toggle between two NOAA-20 VIIRS True Color RGB images as viewed using RealEarth (below) provided a higher-resolution view of the lee waves extending from the island chain.

Many of these islands contain active volcanoes, which frequently produce plumes (which are primarily comprised of steam). A closer look at the lee waves emanating from one of the northernmost islands (below) appeared to suggest that a brighter white volcanic plume existed within the train of waves.

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