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Smoke from Mendocino Complex fires in California

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) showed the smoke and thermal anomalies or “hot spots” (red pixels) associated with the Mendocino Complex burning in Northern California on 04 August 2018. Smoke was reducing the surface visibility to 2.5 miles at nearby Sacramento International Airport KSMF and Marysville KMYV.... Read More

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, right) images, with hourly plots of surface observations [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) showed the smoke and thermal anomalies or “hot spots” (red pixels) associated with the Mendocino Complex burning in Northern California on 04 August 2018. Smoke was reducing the surface visibility to 2.5 miles at nearby Sacramento International Airport KSMF and Marysville KMYV. As of 7pm local time on 04 August the Mendocino Complex had burned 229,000 acres.

A 30-meter resolution Landsat-8 False Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image viewed using RealEarth (below) showed active burning along the eastern edge of the Ranch Fire (part of the Mendocino Complex) at 1845 UTC. The larger fire was producing a pyrocumulus cloud in addition to the dense smoke plume drifting northeastward.

Landsat-8 False Color image [click to enlarge]

Landsat-8 False Color RGB image [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 Upper-level (6.2 µm), Mid-level (6.9 µm) and Low-level (7.3 µm) Water Vapor images (below) revealed a southwest-to-northeast oriented band of moisture and fast flow associated with a middle to upper-tropospheric jet streak that was moving over the region (300 hPa analyses). “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images showed the smoke plume drifting rapidly northeastward over California and Nevada, and visible Derived Motion Winds — which are calculated for pressure levels at and below 700 hPa —  tracked the smoke moving as fast as 58 knots at 2337 UTC. This speed was faster than 00 UTC winds at or below 700 hPa on rawinsonde data from either Oakland KOAK or Reno KREV.

GOES-16 Upper-level (6.2 µm, top left), Mid-level (6.9 µm, top right), Low-level (7.3 µm, bottom left) Water Vapor and "Red" Visible with Derived Motion Winds (0.64 µm, bottom right) [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Upper-level (6.2 µm, top left), Mid-level (6.9 µm, top right), Low-level (7.3 µm, bottom left) Water Vapor images and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, bottom right) images with Derived Motion Winds [click to play MP4 animation]

===== 07 August Update =====

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm) images [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm) images [click to enlarge]

A comparison of NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm) images (above; courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) showed the nighttime glow and thermal signatures of the Mendocino Complex fires on 07 August 2018. As of 8:30am the fire had burned over 290,000 acres, becoming the largest wildfire on record in the state of California.

 

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Alonsa, Manitoba EF-4 tornado

By Scott Bachmeier •

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed the development of a thunderstorm which produced an EF-4 tornado near Alonsa, Manitoba during the early evening hours on 03 August 2018. The cell began to develop southwest of Alonsa around 0020 UTC, and as the thunderstorm matured a series of pulsing... Read More

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images, with hourly plots of surface reports; yellow * denotes the town of Alonsa [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed the development of a thunderstorm which produced an EF-4 tornado near Alonsa, Manitoba during the early evening hours on 03 August 2018. The cell began to develop southwest of Alonsa around 0020 UTC, and as the thunderstorm matured a series of pulsing overshooting tops could be seen. The haziness evident in the Visible imagery was due to smoke from wildfires in the western US and Canada.

The corresponding GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (below) revealed that the coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperature of around -70ºC occurred at 0123 UTC (just prior to the time of the tornado).

GOES-16 "Clean" Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images, with hourly plots of surface reports; black * denotes the town of Alonsa [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images, with hourly plots of surface reports; black * denotes the town of Alonsa [click to play MP4 animation]


The tornado damage path could also be seen in a comparison of ESA Sentinel-2 False Color, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Moisture Index Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (below).

ESA Sentinel-2B False Color, Normalized Difference Vegetattion Index (NDVI) and Moisture Index RGB images [click to enlarge]

ESA Sentinel-2 False Color, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Moisture Index RGB images [click to enlarge]

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Transport of Saharan Air Layer dust across the Atlantic

By Scott Bachmeier •

The GOES-16 (GOES-East) Saharan Air Layer (SAL) infrared Split Window (12.3 µm – 10.3 µm) product (above) showed a large outbreak of SAL dust that emerged from the northwest coast of Africa on 30 July 2018, eventually moving over the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico late in the day on 03 August.During daylight hours,... Read More

GOES-16 Split Window (12.3 µm - 10.3 µm) Saharan Air Layer product [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Split Window (12.3 µm – 10.3 µm) Saharan Air Layer product [click to play MP4 animation]

The GOES-16 (GOES-East) Saharan Air Layer (SAL) infrared Split Window (12.3 µm – 10.3 µm) product (above) showed a large outbreak of SAL dust that emerged from the northwest coast of Africa on 30 July 2018, eventually moving over the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico late in the day on 03 August.

During daylight hours, the dust-laden SAL was also evident in GOES-16 Natural Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) imagery (source) on 01, 02 and 03 August (below).

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

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

GOES-16 Split Window 10.3 µm - 12.3 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 µm – 12.3 µm) images on 02 August [click to play animation | MP4]

The AWIPS version of GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 µm – 12.3 µm) imagery with a different color enhancement (above) showed the westward motion of the SAL dust (shades of cyan) on 02 August. The corresponding GOES-16 Dust Detection product (below) verified the presence of dust within the SAL plume. Since the Dust Detection product uses Visible and Near-Infrared bands, it is only available during daytime hours (and at solar zenith angles less than 60 degrees).

GOES-16 Dust derived product [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Dust Detection product on 02 August [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 µm - 12.3 µm) product [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 µm – 12.3 µm) product on 03 August [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Split Window (10.3 µm – 12.3 µm) imagery from 03 August (above) showed the continued westward motion of the SAL dust (shades of cyan). The corresponding GOES-16 Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) product (below) provided a more quantitative measure of airborne dust. Like the Dust Detection product shown previously, the AOD product also uses Visible and Near-Infrared bands — so it too is only available during daytime hours (and at solar zenith angles less than 60 degrees). Additional information on GOES-R Aerosol Detection Products in AWIPS is available here and here.

GOES-16 Aerosol Optical Depth product [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 Aerosol Optical Depth product on 03 August [click to play animation | MP4]

The 03 August GOES-16 imagery indicated that the leading edge of the SAL began to move over Puerto Rico late in the day. A comparison of morning and evening rawinsonde data from San Juan (below) revealed that the temperature inversion at the base of the SAL became more well-defined at 00 UTC on 04 August.

Plots of rawinsonde data from San Juan, Puerto Rico [click to enlarge]

Plots of rawinsonde data from San Juan, Puerto Rico [click to enlarge]

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Severe thunderstorms in Arizona

By Scott Bachmeier •

* GOES-17 images shown here are preliminary and non-operational *GOES-15 (GOES-West), GOES-17 and GOES-16 (GOES-East) Visible images (above) showed the development of thunderstorms which produced hail and damaging winds (SPC storm reports) in the Phoenix, Arizona area on 02 August 2018. The images are displayed in the native projection of each satellite (no re-mapping).... Read More

Visible images from GOES-15 (0.63 µm, left), GOES-17 (0.64 µm, center) and GOES-16 (0.64 µm, right), with SPC storm reports plotted in red [click to play animation | MP4]

Visible images from GOES-15 (0.63 µm, left), GOES-17 (0.64 µm, center) and GOES-16 (0.64 µm, right), with SPC storm reports plotted in red [click to play animation | MP4]

* GOES-17 images shown here are preliminary and non-operational *

GOES-15 (GOES-West), GOES-17 and GOES-16 (GOES-East) Visible images (above) showed the development of thunderstorms which produced hail and damaging winds (SPC storm reports) in the Phoenix, Arizona area on 02 August 2018. The images are displayed in the native projection of each satellite (no re-mapping). Due to a Full Disk scan, GOES-15 mages were only available every 30 minutes at the beginning of this particular time period; images from GOES-17 were every 5 minutes; a GOES-16 Mesoscale Domain Sector provided images at 1-minute intervals.

The strong thunderstorm winds also produced significant blowing dust — winds gusted to 47 knots (54 mph) and visibility was reduced to 1/2 mile at Phoenix KPHX (below). Winds gusted to 53 knots (61 mph) and visibility fell to 1/4 mile at Chandler KCHD.

Time series of surface observations for Phoenix, Arizona [click to enlarge]

Time series of surface observations for Phoenix, Arizona [click to enlarge]



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