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Hurricane Epsilon

By Scott Bachmeier •

Hurricane Epsilon underwent rapid intensification (ADT | SATCON) on 21 October 2020 — and 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed Epsilon as it intensified from a  Category 1 to a Category 3 storm.GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images with plots of Derived Motion Winds from CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) displayed the broad... Read More

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

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

Hurricane Epsilon underwent rapid intensification (ADT | SATCON) on 21 October 2020 — and 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed Epsilon as it intensified from a  Category 1 to a Category 3 storm.

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images with plots of Derived Motion Winds from CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) displayed the broad upper-level anticyclonic outflow north of the hurricane.

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor(6.9 µm) images, with plots of Derived Motion Winds [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 µm) images, with plots of Derived Motion Winds [click to enlarge]

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NUCAPS Sounding profiles surrounding Colorado’s East Troublesome Fire

By Scott Lindstrom •

The East Troublesome Fire in Colorado expanded greatly on 21 October (click here for more information), and produced pyrocumulus clouds.  NOAA-20 overflew the fire at around 1930 UTC (linked-to overpass map from this site) on 21 October, and NUCAPS profiles, shown above, diagnosed the stability of the mid- and upper-troposphere.  The toggle below between the NOAA-20 VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared (11.45 µm) imagery and NUCAPS Sounding availability... Read More

NOAA-20 NUCAPS Profiles over Colorado, at locations indicated, at ca. 1900 UTC on 21 October 2020 (click to enlarge)

The East Troublesome Fire in Colorado expanded greatly on 21 October (click here for more information), and produced pyrocumulus clouds.  NOAA-20 overflew the fire at around 1930 UTC (linked-to overpass map from this site) on 21 October, and NUCAPS profiles, shown above, diagnosed the stability of the mid- and upper-troposphere.  The toggle below between the NOAA-20 VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared (11.45 µm) imagery and NUCAPS Sounding availability points show the relationships between cloudiness and point color.

Suomi NPP Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared (11.45 µm) imagery at 2015 UTC on 21 October 2020, as well as (NOAA-20) NUCAPS Sounding availability points at ~1900 UTC on 21 October (Click to enlarge)

Gridded NUCAPS fields, below, of 500-300 mb lapse rates show very weak stability in and around the fire location.  A fire-driven updrafts in the region would not find much in the way to impede its vertical development.

NUCAPS estimates of upper-tropospheric (500-300 mb) lapse rates at ca. 1900 UTC on 21 October 2020 (Click to enlarge)

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Blowing dust from the Copper River Delta in south-central Alaska

By Scott Bachmeier •

Strong gap winds accelerating out of the Copper River Valley along the southern coast of Alaska were lofting fine particles of glacial silt/sand and transporting those aerosols southward across the Gulf of Alaska on 20 October 2020. 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Dust Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (above) displayed the plume... Read More

GOES-17

GOES-17 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Dust RGB images [click to play animation | MP4]

Strong gap winds accelerating out of the Copper River Valley along the southern coast of Alaska were lofting fine particles of glacial silt/sand and transporting those aerosols southward across the Gulf of Alaska on 20 October 2020. 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-17 (GOES-West) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Dust Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (above) displayed the plume of airborne dust during the period of 1700-2300 UTC.

A good visualization of the dust plume was provided by GOES-17 True Color RGB images created using Geo2Grid (below).

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

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

A comparison of Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images at 2040 UTC is shown below — note that the dust plume appeared warmer (darker shades of gray) on the Shortwave Infrared image, since the small dust particles were efficient reflectors of incoming solar radiation.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible, Shortwave Infrared and Infrared Window images [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.74 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

The dust plume also exhibited a good signature in the VIIRS Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) product from the eIDEA-AK site (below).

VIIRS True Color RGB and Aerosol Optical Thickness images [click to enlarge]

VIIRS True Color RGB and Aerosol Optical Thickness images [click to enlarge]

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Thundersnow in South Dakota and Minnesota

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Day Cloud Phase Distinction Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images with a overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density (above) displayed clusters of convection — some with brief bursts of lightning activity — which were moving eastward and enhancing snowfall rates from Watertown, South Dakota (station identifier KATY) into far western Minnesota on 20 October 2020. The resulting snowfall amounts... Read More

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images, with an overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images, with an overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) Day Cloud Phase Distinction Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images with a overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density (above) displayed clusters of convection — some with brief bursts of lightning activity — which were moving eastward and enhancing snowfall rates from Watertown, South Dakota (station identifier KATY) into far western Minnesota on 20 October 2020. The resulting snowfall amounts included 6.0 inches near Watertown and 8.0 inches near Ortonville, Minnesota.

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