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Dissipation of nocturnal valley fog across New England

* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing *With high pressure dominating across the region during the pre-dawn nighttime hours (surface analyses), strong radiational cooling (minimum temperatures) aided in the formation of widespread valley fog across New England on 28 October 2017.  Post-sunrise GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images... Read More

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm) images, with hourly surface reports of fog plotted in yellow [click to play animation]

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm) images, with hourly surface reports of fog plotted in yellow [click to play animation]

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

With high pressure dominating across the region during the pre-dawn nighttime hours (surface analyses), strong radiational cooling (minimum temperatures) aided in the formation of widespread valley fog across New England on 28 October 2017.  Post-sunrise GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images revealed the areal extent of the valley fog; however, fog dissipation was fairly rapid during the morning hours as surface heating from abundant sunlight promoted sufficient boundary layer mixing.

During the preceding nighttime hours, development of widespread valley fog could be seen on Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference (11.45 µm – 3.74 µm) images (below) — although surface fog features were obscured at times by patchy cirrus clouds aloft (black enhancement). This example demonstrates that because of the wide (3000 km) scan swath of the VIIRS instrument, in many cases the same region might be sampled by 2 consecutive overpasses. VIIRS will also be part of the instrument payload on the upcoming JPSS series of polar-orbiting satellites.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference (11.45 µm - 3.74 µm) images [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared Brightness Temperature Difference (11.45 µm – 3.74 µm) images [click to enlarge]

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Heavy rain in Florida

Aided in part by precipitation associated with Hurricane Irma, some areas of Florida have received record rainfall during the June-October 2017 period: Tuesday’s 2.22″ of rainfall at Melbourne pushed the total since September 1st over 3″ ahead of the previous record wettest September-October pic.twitter.com/dMdI43OkdI — NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) October 25, 2017 Wettest June... Read More

Aided in part by precipitation associated with Hurricane Irma, some areas of Florida have received record rainfall during the June-October 2017 period:

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

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left), Near-Infrared

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left), Near-Infrared “Vegetation” (0.86 µm, center) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm, right) images [click to play animation]

A comparison of GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Near-Infrared “Vegetation” (0.86 µm) and Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images (above) showed that water was a strong absorber of radiation at 0.86 µm and 1.61 µm wavelengths — therefore wet ground, rivers, lakes and the oceans appeared dark in those images. This makes those two GOES-16 ABI spectral bands useful for identifying areas of flooding.

Two areas in Florida are noteworthy on the images: the St. Johns River in the northeast part of the state (where Moderate Flooding had been occurring), and parts of South Florida (which had just received an additional 1-5 inches of rain on  the previous day).

A closer look at those 2 areas using Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Near-Infrared “:Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images are shown below.

Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Near-Infrared :Snow/Ice

Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Near-Infrared :Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images, showing central and northeastern Florida [click to enlarge]

Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Near-Infrared :Snow/Ice" (1.61 µm) images, showing southern Florida [click to enlarge]

Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 µm) and Near-Infrared :Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm) images, showing southern Florida [click to enlarge]

In stark contrast to the periods of heavy rain, a strong cold front brought clear skies and very dry air over Florida, as seen in MIMIC Total Precipitble Water product (below).

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product [click to enlarge]

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product [click to enlarge]

This dry air evoked enthusiasm in least one South Florida resident:


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Anniversary of the GOES program

#HappyBirthday to GOES! The @NOAASatellites geostationary satellite network was born #OTD in 1975 with the launch of GOES 1. #GoingGoingGone pic.twitter.com/09sSASjBOJ — NASA History Office (@NASAhistory) October 16, 2017The first GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image was transmitted at 1645 UTC on 25 October 1975 (below).Sample GOES-1 Visible images are shown below... Read More

The first GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image was transmitted at 1645 UTC on 25 October 1975 (below).

GOES-1 Visible image at 1645 UTC on 25 October 1975 [click to enlarge]

GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image at 1645 UTC on 25 October 1975 [click to enlarge]

Sample GOES-1 Visible images are shown below (courtesy of Tim Schmit, NOAA/NESDIS/ASPB and the SSEC Data Center), after the satellite had been positioned over the Indian Ocean to support the Global Atmospheric Research Program.

GOES-1 Visible image, 0700 UTC on 10 April 1979 [click to enlarge]

GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image, 0700 UTC on 10 April 1979 [click to enlarge]


GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image, 0930 UTC on 01 January 1979 [click to enlarge]

GOES-1 Visible (0.65 µm) image, 0930 UTC on 01 January 1979 [click to enlarge]

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Santa Ana winds in Southern California

* GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational and are undergoing testing *The GOES-16 Land Surface Temperature product (above, courtesy of Jordan Gerth, CIMSS) revealed a dramatic increase in the land surface temperature (or surface “skin temperature”) following the onset of easterly/northeasterly Santa Ana winds in Southern California’s... Read More

GOES-16 Land Surface Temperature product, with hourly surface reports plotted in white [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 Land Surface Temperature product, with hourly surface reports plotted in white [click to enlarge]

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

The GOES-16 Land Surface Temperature product (above, courtesy of Jordan Gerth, CIMSS) revealed a dramatic increase in the land surface temperature (or surface “skin temperature”) following the onset of easterly/northeasterly Santa Ana winds in Southern California’s Ventura County during the overnight and early morning hours of 24 October 2017. Between 06-14 UTC (11 PM-7 AM local time), the surface air temperature increased from 66-91ºF at Oxnard (KOXR), 75-90ºF at Point Mugu (KNTD) and 77-91ºF at Camarillo (KCMA). Surface wind gusts of 32 mph were recorded at Camarillo during this period, although 64 mph was reported at South Mountain (elevation 2350 feet)..

A warming trend in that same area was also evident in the MODIS Land Surface Temperature product (below), during the time between the Terra (0539 UTC) and Aqua (0951 UTC) overpasses — LST values ranged from the low 60s F (lighter shades of yellow) to the upper 80s and low 90s F (darker shades of red) in the higher elevations.

Terra and Aqua MODIS Land Surface Temperature product [click to enlarge]

Terra and Aqua MODIS Land Surface Temperature product [click to enlarge]

A similar warming signature was seen over Ventura County on GOES-16 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (below) — although an even more pronounced Santa Ana wind warming signal was evident farther to the southeast over Orange County (where winds gusted as high as 69 mph); note how the warmer orange-enhanced infrared brightness temperatures surged southwestward toward the coast.

GOES-16 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

A number of record high temperatures resulted from this Santa Ana wind event:


Record high temperatures in the San Diego, California

Record high temperatures in the San Diego, California area

In fact, the highest temperature in the Lower 48 states that day was 108ºF at Miramar Naval Air Station and San Luis Obispo, California.

National Temperature extremes

National Temperature extremes

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