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Cape Newenham, Alaska bow shock waves

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-15 (GOES-West) Visible (0.63 µm) images (above) showed patches of fog and low stratus moving southwestward off Southwest Alaska and across the adjacent offshore waters of the Bering Sea on 10 June 2018.A closer look using 250-meter resolution Terra/Aqua MODIS and 375-meter resolution Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images... Read More

GOES-15 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with hourly plots of wind barbs [click to play animation]

GOES-15 Visible (0.63 µm) images, with hourly plots of wind barbs [click to play animation]

GOES-15 (GOES-West) Visible (0.63 µm) images (above) showed patches of fog and low stratus moving southwestward off Southwest Alaska and across the adjacent offshore waters of the Bering Sea on 10 June 2018.

A closer look using 250-meter resolution Terra/Aqua MODIS and 375-meter resolution Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images from RealEarth (below) revealed a packet of “bow shock waves” created as the shallow fog/stratus interacted with the relatively rugged terrain of the narrow Cape Newenham land feature (Google Maps). Other examples of similar bow shock wave cloud features have been documented here, here and here.

Terra MODIS, Aqua MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color RGB images [click to enlarge]

Terra MODIS, Aqua MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color RGB images [click to enlarge]

A 30-meter resolution Landsat-8 false-color RGB image (below) provided a more detailed view of the bow shock wave structure. Snow cover (cyan) could be seen on some of the higher-elevation land features.

Landsat-8 false-color RGB image [click to enlarge]

Landsat-8 false-color RGB image [click to enlarge]

A time series plot of Cape Newenham surface observations (below) showed the fluctuations in visibility as northerly winds brought patches of fog over the site.

Time series plot of Cape Newenham surface observations [click to enlarge]

Time series plot of Cape Newenham surface observations [click to enlarge]

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PyroCumulonimbus cloud in Colorado

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the formation of a small pyroCumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud spawned by the 416 Fire in southwestern Colorado on 09 June 2018. A Mesoscale Domain Sector was positioned over the region, providing images at 1-minute intervals.On Shortwave Infrared imagery,... Read More

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, center) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, with hourly plots of surface reports [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the formation of a small pyroCumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud spawned by the 416 Fire in southwestern Colorado on 09 June 2018. A Mesoscale Domain Sector was positioned over the region, providing images at 1-minute intervals.

On Shortwave Infrared imagery, the thermal anomaly or “hot spot” appeared as a large cluster of red pixels — and the top of the pyroCb cloud took on a darker gray appearance than nearby high-altitude ice crystal clouds (due to enhanced solar reflectance off the smaller ice crystals of the pyroCb anvil). On 10.3 µm imagery, cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures cooled to around -50ºC (bright yellow enhancement) as the pyroCb drifted northeastward.

NOAA-19 AVHRR Visible (0.63 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.7 µm) and Infrared Window (10.8 µm) images, with plots of 22 UTC surface reports [click to enlarge]

NOAA-19 AVHRR Visible (0.63 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.7 µm) and Infrared Window (10.8 µm) images, with plots of 22 UTC surface reports [click to enlarge]

On 1-km resolution NOAA-19 AVHRR Infrared Window (10.8 µm) imagery at 22:07 UTC (above), the minimum cloud-top brightness temperature was -53ºC — this temperature roughly corresponded to an altitude of 11.6 km according to 00 UTC rawinsonde data from Grand Junction, Colorado (below).

Plots of rawinsonde data from Grand Junction, Colorado [click to enlarge]

Plots of rawinsonde data from Grand Junction, Colorado [click to enlarge]


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Hurricane Aletta

By Scott Bachmeier •

Tropical Storm Aletta was upgraded to Hurricane Aletta at 21 UTC on 07 June 2018. As was the case on 06 June, a GOES-16 Mesoscale Domain Sector centered over the tropical cyclone provided 1-minute data — and an eye eventually became apparent on  “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) imagery... Read More

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images [click to play MP4 animation]

Tropical Storm Aletta was upgraded to Hurricane Aletta at 21 UTC on 07 June 2018. As was the case on 06 June, a GOES-16 Mesoscale Domain Sector centered over the tropical cyclone provided 1-minute data — and an eye eventually became apparent on  “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) imagery (above).

DMSP-15, DMSP-17 and GPM GMI Microwave (85 GHz) imagery from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed an increase in organization of the eye structure as the day progressed.

DMSP-15 SSMI Microwave image [click to enlarge]

DMSP-15 SSMI Microwave image [click to enlarge]

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave image [click to enlarge]

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave image [click to enlarge]

GPM GMI Microwave image [click to enlarge]

GPM GMI Microwave image [click to enlarge]

===== 08 June Update =====

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

Aletta went through a period of rapid intensification (ADT | SATCON), reaching Category 4 status by 15 UTC on 08 June. 1-minute GOES-16 Infrared (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the eye becoming more well-defined during the pre-dawn hours.

After sunrise, GOES-16 Visible images (below) initially hinted at the presence of mesovortices within the eye of Aletta.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images [click to play MP4 animation]

Aletta had been moving over relatively warm water and within an environment characterized by low values of deep-layer wind shear (below) — both  of which were favorable factors for intensification. An animation of the deep-layer wind shear over the East Pacific Ocean during 06-07 June is available here.

Sea Surface Temperature and Deep-Layer Wind Shear products [click to enlarge]

Sea Surface Temperature and Deep-Layer Wind Shear products [click to enlarge]

Aletta peaked in intensity later in the day on 08 June (ADT | SATCON) — as pointed out by NHC “This is also consistent with GOES-16 measurements of increased inner-core lightning observed to be occurring to the east of the eastern eyewall, which some research suggests corresponds to a halting of the intensification process”. GOES-16 Infrared (10.3 µm) imagery with GLM Group Density counts are shown below.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) with GLM Group Density counts [click to play MP4 animation]

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TransCanada pipeline explosion and fire in West Virginia

By Scott Bachmeier •

An explosion and fire occurred along a TransCanada natural gas pipeline in the remote Nixon Ridge area of Marshall County, West Virginia on 07 June 2018. A thermal signature of the fire was seen in GOES-16 (GOES-East) Near-Infrared Snow/Ice (1.61 µm), Near-Infrared Cloud Particle Size (2.24 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images... Read More

GOES-16 Near-Infrared

GOES-16 Near-Infrared “Snow/Ice” (1.61 µm, left), Near-Infrared “Cloud Particle Size” (2.24 µm, center) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, right) images; Interstate Highways are plotted in red, with State Highways in cyan [click to play animation | MP4]

An explosion and fire occurred along a TransCanada natural gas pipeline in the remote Nixon Ridge area of Marshall County, West Virginia on 07 June 2018. A thermal signature of the fire was seen in GOES-16 (GOES-East) Near-Infrared Snow/Ice (1.61 µm), Near-Infrared Cloud Particle Size (2.24 µm) and Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images (above) beginning at 0817 UTC (4:17 am Eastern Time). The fire signature was no longer apparent after 0927 UTC (5:27 am Eastern Time).

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