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Blowing dust originating from the Gobi Desert in Mongolia

By Scott Bachmeier •

JMA Himawari-8 True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) revealed a long plume of airborne dust from the Gobi Desert, which curved cyclonically across northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula, eventually moving over the Sea of Japan on 12 May 2020.A longer day/night animation of Himawari-8 Dust RGB images (below)... Read More

Himawari-8 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

JMA Himawari-8 True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) revealed a long plume of airborne dust from the Gobi Desert, which curved cyclonically across northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula, eventually moving over the Sea of Japan on 12 May 2020.

A longer day/night animation of Himawari-8 Dust RGB images (below) indicated that the dust plume (shades of pink) originated in Mongolia early on 11 May, along a cold front associated with a strong midlatitude cyclone over northeastern China.

Himawari-8 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

A NOAA-20 VIIRS True Color RGB image as viewed using RealEarth (below) showed the dust plume at 04 UTC on 12 May.

NOAA-20 VIIRS True Color RGB image, with plots of surface reports [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 VIIRS True Color RGB image, with plots of surface reports [click to enlarge]

Time series plots of surface report data (below) showed that close to the source of the plume in Mongolia winds gusted as high as 47 knots with blowing dust at Ulan-Bator (ZMUB) — while just across the China border surface visibility was briefly restricted to less than 1 mile at Hohhot (ZBHH).

Time series of surface report data from Ulan-Bator, Mongolia [click to enlarge]

Time series plot of surface report data from Ulan-Bator, Mongolia [click to enlarge]

Time series of surface report data from Hohhot, China [click to enlarge]

Time series plot of surface report data from Hohhot, China [click to enlarge]

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Mesoscale Convective Vortex in Texas

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed the cyclonic circulation of a Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) in the Hill Country of Texas (east of San Angelo, KSJT) on 12 May 2020. The animation begins with 5-minute CONUS sector images, then transitions to 1-minute images as a Mesoscale Domain Sector is positioned over the area at... Read More

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GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed the cyclonic circulation of a Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV) in the Hill Country of Texas (east of San Angelo, KSJT) on 12 May 2020. The animation begins with 5-minute CONUS sector images, then transitions to 1-minute images as a Mesoscale Domain Sector is positioned over the area at 1529 UTC. As the MCV approached a cluster of ongoing convection, a few tornadoes were reported, likely due to the MCV enhancing low-level wind shear (SPC Mesoscale Discussion).

A more subtle signature of the MCV circulation was also evident in GOES-16 Low-level Water Vapor (7.34 µm) images (below).

GOES-16 Low-level Water Vapor (7.34 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Low-level Water Vapor (7.34 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

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Midlatitude cyclone producing snow and high winds across the Upper Midwest

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images (above) showed the circulation associated with a midlatitude cyclone that moved southeastward from southern Canada across the Upper Midwest on 09 May 2020. This system brought a variety of precipitation to the region, including snow with several inches of accumulation in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.Anomalously strong winds were... Read More

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with hourly surface weather type plotted in red (R=rain; S=snow; F=fog) [click to pay animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with hourly surface weather type plotted in red (R=rain; ZR=freezing rain; S=snow; L=drizzle; F=fog) [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images (above) showed the circulation associated with a midlatitude cyclone that moved southeastward from southern Canada across the Upper Midwest on 09 May 2020. This system brought a variety of precipitation to the region, including snow with several inches of accumulation in parts of North Dakota and Minnesota.

Anomalously strong winds were associated with this storm, which produced peak wind gusts of 60 mph or higher in North Dakota and South Dakota — hourly surface winds with gusts are plotted on GOES-16 Water Vapor images (below).

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with plots of hourly wind barbs and gusts [click to pay animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with plots of hourly wind barbs and gusts [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images (below) revealed the northwest-to-southeast oriented swath of fresh snowfall (brighter shades of green) from eastern Saskatchewan ad western Manitoba into north-central North Dakota. The edges of the snow swath began to rapidly melt during the day, due to the warming power of the early May sun.

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

===== 10 May Update =====

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

As the surface low’s occluded front moved across southern Wisconsin on the morning of 10 May, GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images (above) provided a nice depiction of of the brief period of dynamic cooling and transition from rain to snow as glaciated cloud tops (shades of green) blossomed over the Madison (KMSN) area.

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Blowing dust off the coast of Australia

By Scott Bachmeier •

JMA Himawari-8 True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) showed a cloud of dust moving southeastward off the coast of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia on 08 May 20120.A more subtle signature of the airborne dust (shades of pink) was seen in a longer animation of Himawari-8... Read More

Himawari-8 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

JMA Himawari-8 True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) showed a cloud of dust moving southeastward off the coast of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia on 08 May 20120.

A more subtle signature of the airborne dust (shades of pink) was seen in a longer animation of Himawari-8 Dust RGB images (below), which included nighttime periods prior to and after the True Color image sequence.

Himawari-8 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Himawari-8 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

The dust cloud was also apparent in a Suomi NPP VIIRS True Color RGB image as viewed using RealEarth (below).

Suomi NPP VIIRS True Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS True Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

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