Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and 11.45 µm IR channel images

A comparison of AWIPS images of Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and 11.45 µm IR channel data at 11:32 UTC (4:32 AM local time) on 06 October 2012 (above) demonstrated the value of using the Day/Night Band as “visible imagery at night” to aid in the detection of features such as ship tracks that were difficult to identify in the IR image. Snow cover in the higher terrain of western British Columbia cuould also be seen, appearing as brighter white areas on the Day/Night Band image.

Additional ship tracks could be identified within the marine boundary layer stratus clouds by examining the coresponding Suomi NPP VIIRS IR brightness temperature difference “Fog/stratus product” image (below) — as well as numerous fingers of valley fog across interior British Columbia.

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and Fog/stratus product images

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MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product with track of Tropical Cyclone Nadine (click image to play QuickTime movie)

A sequence of MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product images at 3-hour intervals from 12 UTC on 07 September 2012 to 00 UTC on 04 October 2012 (above) shows the track of long-lived Tropical Cyclone Nadine as it meandered across the Atlantic Ocean. In the final (88th) advisory issued for Nadine by the National Hurricane Center, they stated:

PENDING A POST-STORM ANALYSIS…NADINE WILL TIE GINGER OF 1971 AS THE SECOND-LONGEST-LASTING ATLANTIC TROPICAL STORM ON RECORD AT 21.25 DAYS. AS A TROPICAL CYCLONE…WHICH INCLUDES THE TROPICAL DEPRESSION STAGE…IT IS THE FIFTH-LONGEST-LASTING TROPICAL CYCLONE ON RECORD IN THE BASIN…AT 21.75 DAYS.

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GOES-14 3.9 µm shortwave IR images (click to play animation)

Numerous wildfires began to burn across parts of northeastern North Dakota, northwestern Minnesota, and southeastern Manitoba during the afternoon hours on 02 October 2012. Strong south to southwest winds in advance of an approaching cold front were gusting into the 35-45 mph range, helping many of these fires to grow rather quickly. 4-km resolution GOES-14 3.9 µm shortwave IR images (above; click image to play animation) showed the appearance of several prominent “hot spots” (red to yellow to black color enhancement) associated with the larger fires.

A sequence of 1-km resolution MODIS 3.7 µm shortwave IR images (below) showed the increase in size of some of the larger fire hot spots during the day as the cold front approached.

MODIS 3.7 µm shortwave IR images

Two comparisons of 4-km resolution GOES-14 3.9 µm shortwave IR images with their corresponding 1-km resolution MODIS 3.7 µm shortwave IR images (below) demonstrated the advantage of higher spatial resolution for not only detecting some of the smaller fires, but for also more accurately locating the hot spots associated with the fires themselves. For example, mandatory evacuations were ordered for parts of the town of Karlstad in far northwestern Minnesota (located about 20 miles southeast of Hallock, station identifier KHCO), due to a large fire along the Kittson and Marshall county line. The MODIS images correctly dislayed the hot spot of this fire along that particular county line, placing it just south of Karlstad.

GOES-14 3.9 µm and MODIS 3.7 µm shortwave IR images

GOES-14 3.9 µm and MODIS 3.7 µm shortwave IR images

During the subsequent overnight hours, the fire located north of Upper Red Lake and Lower Red Lake in northwestern Minnesota continued to grow very rapidly, and produced an unusually long smoke plume that was quite evident on Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band (DNB) images at 07:33 UTC (2:33 AM local time) and 09:14 UTC (4:14 AM local time) as it drifted northeastward over southern Ontario (below). Illumination from the nearly full (waning gibbous phase, 87% full) Harvest Moon allowed the smoke plume and surrounding cloud features to be easily seen at night.

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band images

Comparisons of the Suomi NPPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band images with their corresponding 3.74 µm shortwave IR images at those two times (below) showed the large fire hot spots (yellow to red to black color enhancement) on the shortwave IR imagery along with the brightly glowing signature of the fire on the DNB imagery.

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day’Night Band and 3.74 µm shortwave IR images

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and 3.74 µm shortwave IR images

Since smoke is essentially transparent to longwave InfraRed (IR) thermal radiation, comparisons of the Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band images with their corresponding 11.45 µm IR images (below) showed that there was no discernable signature of the smoke plume on the IR imagery.

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and 11.45 µm IR images

Suomi NPP VIIRS 0.7 µm Day/Night Band and 11/45 µm IR images

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MODIS true-color Red/Green/Blue (RGB) image

A spectacular display of autumn tree colors can be seen on 30 September 2012 across parts of northeastern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in this 250-meter resolution Aqua MODIS true-color Red/Green/Blue (RGB) image from the SSEC MODIS Today site (above).

===== 02 October Update =====

Two days later, another view of the autumn tree foliage colors was provided by a Terra MODIS true-color RGB image from the SSEC MODIS Direct Broadcast site (below).

MODIS true-color Red/Green/Blue (RGB) image

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