Numerous small fires were burning in the Lake Okeechobee area of southern Florida on 20 February 2017. A comparison of GOES-16 ABI (at rapid scan 30 second intervals) and GOES-13 (at routine 15-30 minute intervals) 3.9 µm Shortwave Infrared images (above; also available as a 71 Mbyte animated GIF) showed the “hot spots” — dark black to yellow to red enhancement, with red being the hottest — associated with these fires. Since many of the fires were agricultural sugar cane burns (which tend to be brief, but intense), the vast majority were not detected using the routine operational 15-30 minute scan interval of GOES-13; only the 30-second interval rapid scan GOES-16 images were able to capture these short-lived events. GOES-16 (the first in the GOES-R series) will provide the capability of 30-second or 60-second images within special Mesoscale Sectors.

The improved spatial resolution of the GOES-16 data (2-km at satellite sub-point, vs 4-km for GOES-13) also aided in the detection and characterization of the small and short-lived fires.

Fire detection points from the NOAA Hazard Mapping System for 20 February are shown below.

Note: GOES-16 data shown on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing on-orbit testing.

 

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Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and Longwave Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above / MP4 ; zoomed-in over fire source region: GIF / MP4) showed wildfires burning in New South Wales, Australia on 12 February 2017. The larger Sir Ivan Fire near Dunedoo produced a pyroCumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud, which first cooled below the -40ºC Longwave Infrared brightness temperature “pyroCb threshold” at 0530 UTC (-47ºC) and quickly reached its minimum temperature of -56.6ºC at 0540 UTC. An animation of Himawari-8 true-color images is available here (courtesey of Dan Lindsey, RAMMB/CIRA).

Consecutive true-color images from Suomi NPP VIIRS (0402 UTC) and Aqua MODIS (0405 UTC) viewed using RealEarth (below) showed the large smoke plume about 1.5 hours prior to pyroCb development.

A high fire danger was well-anticipated across this portion of Australia:

#Australia #heatwave. Heat and winds mean risk of “extreme to catastrophic” #fire danger conditions in New South Wales Sunday, @BOM_au pic.twitter.com/kKEgw6OqyD

— WMO | OMM (@WMO) February 12, 2017

Some ground-based photos of the pyroCb cloud:

This is the Sir Ivan fire about an hour ago. Danger not passed for local communities yet. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/1CqdLfR5Y8

— Rob Rogers (@robrfs) February 12, 2017

Sir Ivan fire from Dunedoo #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/3KiyI7bMwL

— Rob Rogers (@robrfs) February 12, 2017

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A strong winter storm impacted much of the Northeast US on 09 February 2017, dropping up to 24 inches of snow in Maine and producing wind gusts of 70 mph in Massachusetts (WPC storm summary). GOES-13 (GOES-East) Water Vapor (6.5 µm) images with surface fronts and Mean Sea Level Pressure (above) showed the rapid intensification of the mid-latitude cyclone.

GOES-13 Visible images (above) and Water Vapor images (below) with hourly surface weather symbols revealed the extent of thunderstorms in the south and heavy snow in the north. A number of sites in New England also reported thundersnow.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and infrared Window (11.45 µm) images (below) provided a high-resolution snapshot of the storm at 1708 UTC. Note the areas of banded convective elements both south of the storm center over the Atlantic, and also inland over parts of New England.

===== 10 February Update =====

As the storm moved northward over Newfoundland and Labrador in eastern Canada on 10 February, a toggle between Terra (1601 UTC) and Aqua (1743 UTC) MODIS false-color “snow/cloud discrimination” Red/Green/Blue (RGB) images (above) showed the extent of the snow cover (darker shades of red), although supercooled water droplet clouds (shades of white) persisted over many areas at the times of the 2 images. Glaciated ice crystal clouds also appeared as shades of red.

Snowfall totals in the Canadian Maritimes were as high as 38 cm (15 inches).

 

Conditions gradually ease tnt in Newfoundland as #ATLstorm blasts north. It left this behind in the #Maritimes. pic.twitter.com/OMvZ0wJHjE

— Suzanne Leonard (@SuzanneTWN) February 11, 2017

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Severe Weather hit Louisiana on Tuesday 7 February 2017, and the ABI on GOES-16 viewed the convective development. This website includes an animation (also available on YouTube) of the visible imagery (Band 2, 0.64 µm with 0.5-km resolution at the subsatellite point) from ABI during the time period of the strongest tornadoes in and near New Orleans. Click here for an animation that includes views of all 16 ABI Bands.

A comparison of GOES-13 (GOES-East) Visible (0.63 µm) and Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images is shown below, with hourly surface reports and locations of the tornado reports.

Suomi NPP overflew the convection shortly after the tornadoes were on the ground in Louisiana, and images from the three spectral bands shown below, 11.45 µm, 0.64 µm and 1.61 µm show a mature convective system with overshooting tops over the Gulf Coast states and the Gulf of Mexico. The 1.61 µm Snow Ice band helps in the discrimination between cloud tops comprised of water droplets (bright white) vs. cloud tops comprised of ice crystals (grey); the ABI on GOES-16 has a similar band.

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