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Gridded NUCAPS fields around nocturnal convection over the southern Plains

By Scott Lindstrom •

GOES-16 Clean Window (10.3 µm) infrared imagery, above (click to animate) shows two regions of convection over the southern Plains, one moving through central/southern Oklahoma, one developing over the Texas Panhandle and moving east). A similar (but slightly later) animation of GOES-16 Low-Level water vapor infrared imagery (7.34 µm) is... Read More

GOES-16 Clean Window (10.3 µm) infrared imagery, 0346 – 1021 UTC, 22 April 2020 (click to animate)

GOES-16 Clean Window (10.3 µm) infrared imagery, above (click to animate) shows two regions of convection over the southern Plains, one moving through central/southern Oklahoma, one developing over the Texas Panhandle and moving east). A similar (but slightly later) animation of GOES-16 Low-Level water vapor infrared imagery (7.34 µm) is below.

GOES-16 Low-Level water vapor (7.3 µm) infrared imagery, 0456 – 1441 UTC, 22 April 2020 (click to animate)

At 0821 UTC, two distinct mesoscale convective complexes are apparent, with a clear region between. This time approximated an overpass by NOAA-20; data from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) are combined to create NUCAPS soundings.

GOES-16 Low-Level water vapor (7.3 µm) infrared imagery, 0826 UTC, 22 April 2020, along with NUCAPS sounding points (click to enlarge)

During this time, there were three soundings launched at Amarillo — at 0000, 0600 and 1200 UTC.  They are shown below and all three suggest steep mid-level lapse rates.

Radiosonde from Amarillo TX at 0000, 0600 and 1200 UTC on 22 April 2020 (Click to enlarge)

The NUCAPS profile south of Amarillo (in the water vapor image above, the ‘green’ point just south of the ‘red’ point just south of the convective system over Amarillo) is shown below.  It also shows fairly steep mid-level lapse rates.  Click here to see a toggle between the NUCAPS profile below and the 0600 UTC Amarillo Radiosonde.

NUCAPS Profile at 35 N, 101 W, 0821 UTC on 22 April 2020 (Click to enlarge)

Gridded NUCAPS fields allow a forecaster to view thermodynamic information from the entire pass more easily than can be achieved by examination of individual soundings, or by viewing soundings via the pop-up SkewT.  The animation below shows the Total Totals index, the 850-500-mb lapse rate, and the lapse rate from 700-300 mb.  Strong instability (Total Totals values around 50) is indicated downstream of the system over the Texas panhandle; also, lapse rates are steeper between 700 and 300 mb (about 7.5º C/km) compared to those between 850 and 500 mb (about 6.8º C/km).

Gridded NUCAPS data gives timely satellite-derived (and model-independent) estimates of the thermodynamic state of the atmosphere.

Gridded NOAA-20 NUCAPS estimates of Total Totals index, 850-500 mb Lapse Rate and 700-300 mb Lapse Rate (Click to enlarge)

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Smoke from Asia over the North Pacific Ocean

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-17 (GOES-West) True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) displayed the hazy signature of smoke which was being transported by the circulation of a midlatitude cyclone over the North Pacific Ocean on 21 April 2020.Since there was no distinct pink-colored dust signal seen in corresponding Dust RGB imagery... Read More

GOES-17 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 (GOES-West) True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) displayed the hazy signature of smoke which was being transported by the circulation of a midlatitude cyclone over the North Pacific Ocean on 21 April 2020.

Since there was no distinct pink-colored dust signal seen in corresponding Dust RGB imagery (below), smoke was the likely airborne aerosol type; recent fire activity in areas such as northern China could have been the source of the smoke.

GOES-17 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-17 Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Comparison of GOES-17 True Color RGB and Dust RGB images at 0110 UTC {click to enlarge]

Comparison of GOES-17 True Color RGB and Dust RGB images at 0110 UTC [click to enlarge]

 

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Another round of severe weather in the Deep South

By Scott Bachmeier •

Just one week after a deadly tornado outbreak across the Deep South, 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) with time-matched plots of SPC Storm Reports (above) showed the development of thunderstorms over Louisiana that crossed the Mississippi border and went on to produce a long-track tornado that produced... Read More

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm, bottom), with plots of SPC Storm Reports [click to play animation | MP4]

Just one week after a deadly tornado outbreak across the Deep South, 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) with time-matched plots of SPC Storm Reports (above) showed the development of thunderstorms over Louisiana that crossed the Mississippi border and went on to produce a long-track tornado that produced EF-4 damage on 19 April 2020. Pulsing updraft behavior and the appearance of an Above-Anvil Cirrus Plume was observed with 2 of the thunderstorms as they moved across far southern Mississippi.

Focusing on the 10-minute period 2340-2350 UTC, a sequence of GOES-16 Visible, Infrared and GLM Flash Extent Density (below) revealed a well-defined overshooting top turret which exhibited a minimum infrared brightness temperature of -87.2ºC at 2349 UTC — and a lightning jump where the FED increased to 44 flashes per minute at 2348 UTC. The long-track tornado began about 20 minutes later, at 0010 UTC on 20 April.

GOES-16 "Red" Visible (0.64 µm), "Clean" Infrared Window (10.35 µm) and GLM Flash Extent Density [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) and GLM Flash Extent Density [click to play animation | MP4]


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Ice in the Labrador Sea

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) revealed the complex motion of ice eddies in the Labrador Sea — within the Labrador Current off the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada — on 18 April 2020. According to the Canadian Ice Service, this First-year ice was of below-normal concentration.Thanks to Antonio Vecoli... Read More

GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images created using Geo2Grid (above) revealed the complex motion of ice eddies in the Labrador Sea — within the Labrador Current off the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland, Canada — on 18 April 2020. According to the Canadian Ice Service, this First-year ice was of below-normal concentration.

Thanks to Antonio Vecoli for bringing these features to our attention.

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