The only Supermoon of 2017 occurred on 03 December — and a composite of Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) swaths viewed using RealEarth (above) demonstrated the “visible image at night” capability of that spectral band. A VIIRS instrument is also part of the payload on recently-launched JPSS-1/NOAA-20.

A few examples providing closer looks using VIIRS Day/Night Band (DNB) imagery are shown below, beginning with the western portion of an Atlantic storm that had been producing Gale Force winds during the previous 6-12 hours.

A toggle between Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Fog/stratus Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference (11.45 µm – 3.74 µm) images, centered over the Southeast US (below) showed widespread areas of fog and/or stratus The brighter fog/stratus features were generally brighter on the DNB image..

Another toggle between DNB and Fog/stratus Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference images, this time centered over Minnesota, Wisconsin and the UP of Michigan (below) revealed snow cover that was much below average for the date — especially across the UP of Michigan.

Finally, a toggle between DNB images from consecutive overpass times (0935 and 1116 UTC), showing small clusters of rain showers moving inland along the coast of Oregon and far northern California (below). Because of the wide scan swath of the VIIRS instrument (2330 km), there are times when the same area will be imaged during 2 consecutive overpasses.

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In preparation for its move from 89.5º W Longitude to the operational GOES-East position at 75.2º W Longitude, GOES-16 Instruments — the ABI, the GLM, and others — have been placed in ‘safe mode.’  In that mode, the instruments do not scan or transmit data.  This occurred shortly after the 1330 UTC Full Disk image, and the 1332 CONUS Image, shown above.  GOES-16 instrumentation will start scanning and transmitting again, sometime between 14 and 20 December.  In contrast to earlier GOES Satellites, GOES-R series satellites will not transmit data when they are shifting longitude.

Other examples of the final preliminary, non-operational GOES-16 ABI images are shown below: (1) Visible (0.64 µm) imagery centered over snow-covered Mount Washington, New Hampshire, (2) Full Disk Water Vapor (6.9 µm) imagery and (3) a closer view of Water Vapor (7.3 µm, 6.9 µm and 6.2 µm) images showing mountain waves over Wyoming and Colorado.

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* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing *

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above; also available as an animated GIF) showed signatures associated with a prescribed burn in western Wisconsin on 28 November 2017. The Shortwave Infrared images revealed a warm thermal anomaly or “hot spot” (dark black to yellow to red pixels) — and on the visible images, a thin smoke plume could be seen drifting southeastward from the fire source.

Early in the animation sequence, however, a band of cirrus cloud was moving over the fire — yet a faint thermal signature (darker gray to black pixels) could occasionally be seen on the Shortwave Infrared imagery. The cirrus cloud layer was thin enough to allow some of the heat energy emitted by the fire to pass through and reach the satellite detectors. Once the cirrus moved to the south, the fire’s hot spot became much more apparent.

A toggle between Terra MODIS Shortwave Infrared (3.7µm) and Infrared Window (11.0 µm) images at 1812 UTC (below) also showed a faint warm fire signature through the cirrus clouds — the cloud-top Infrared Window brightness temperature directly over the fire in northern Monroe County was -33ºC, while the warmest Shortwave Infrared brightness temperature of the subtle fire signature was +1ºC.

As was seen on the GOES-16 imagery, after the band of cirrus moved south of the fire an Aqua MODIS Shortwave Infrared (3.7 µm) image at 1912 UTC (below) displayed a pronounced fire hot spot signature.

(Thanks to Dave Schmidt, NWS La Crosse, for bringing this case to our attention!)

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* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing *

As a strong cold front (surface analyses) moved southward from Colorado and Nebraska across New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma on 28 November 2017, the subtle curved arc signature of a lee-side cold frontal gravity wave could be seen on GOES-16 Lower-level (7.3 µm), Mid-level (6.9 µm) and Upper-level (6.2 µm) Water Vapor images (above).

Closer views of imagery from each of the 3 water vapor bands are shown below.

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