![\"GOES-16](\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/01\/180121_goes16_moisture_btd_TX_bldn_anim.gif\")
<\/a>GOES-16 “Moisture” Infrared brightness temperature difference (10.3-12.3 \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with hourly surface reports plotted in cyan [click to play animation]<\/p><\/div>Strong winds<\/strong><\/a> in the wake of a cold frontal passage<\/strong><\/a> created large areas of blowing dust across the Panhandle Plains of northwestern Texas after 16 UTC on 21 January 2018<\/strong><\/a>. GOES-16 “Moisture” or “split-window difference” (10.3 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a> – 12.3 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images (above)<\/strong><\/em> showed that the leading edge of this airborne dust moved over far southwestern Oklahoma after 20 UTC. (Note to AWIPS users: the default enhancement for this GOES-16 “Moisture” Channel Difference product was changed to “Grid\/lowrange enhanced”<\/em> to better highlight the dust with shades of yellow)<\/p>\n GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) and Near-Infrared “Cirrus” (1.37 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images (below)<\/strong><\/em> also displayed blowing dust signatures; the surface visibility was restricted to 2-3 miles at some locations, with Big Spring<\/strong><\/a> briefly reporting only 1\/4 mile from 20-21 UTC. The dust signature was apparent on the Cirrus imagery because this spectral band can be used to detect any airborne particles that are effective<\/em> scatterers<\/em> of light<\/em> (such as cirrus ice crystals, volcanic ash, dust\/sand or haze).<\/p>\n GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with hourly reports of surface weather plotted in red and surface visibility (miles)<\/em> plotted in red [click to play animation]<\/p><\/div> GOES-16 Near-Infrared “Cirrus” (1.37 \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with hourly reports of surface weather plotted in red and surface visibility (miles)<\/em> plotted in red [click to play animation]<\/p><\/div>A Cirrus band is also available with the MODIS instrument on the Terra and Aqua satellites (as well as the VIIRS instrument on Suomi NPP and NOAA-20) — a comparison of Visible (0.65 \u00b5m), Cirrus (1.37 \u00b5m), Shortwave Infrared (3.7 \u00b5m) and Infrared Window (11.0 \u00b5m) images from Terra and Aqua (below)<\/strong><\/em> highlighted the differing appearance of the blowing dust features as sensed by each of those spectral bands. The airborne dust exhibited a darker<\/em> signature in the Shortwave Infrared images since the small dust particles were efficient reflectors of incoming solar radiation, thus appearing warmer <\/em>at 3.7 \u00b5m.<\/p>\n Terra MODIS Visible (0.65 \u00b5m),<\/em> Cirrus (1.37 \u00b5m),<\/em> Shortwave Infrared (3.7 \u00b5m)<\/em> and Infrared Window (11.0<\/em> \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with surface reports plotted in cyan [click to enlarge]<\/p><\/div> Aqua MODIS Visible (0.65 \u00b5m),<\/em> Cirrus (1.37 \u00b5m),<\/em> Shortwave Infrared (3.7 \u00b5m)<\/em> and Infrared Window (11.0<\/em> \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with surface reports plotted in cyan [click to enlarge]<\/p><\/div>Pilot reports within 20-45 minutes after the Terra overpass time<\/strong><\/a> (below)<\/strong><\/em> revealed Moderate to Severe turbulence at an elevation of 8000 feet, just southeast of the most dense dust plume feature (highlighted by the cooler, lighter gray infrared brightness temperatures) <\/em>— this was likely due to strong wind shear in the vicinity of the rapidly-advancing cold front<\/strong><\/a>. Farther to the southwest, another pilot report indicated that the top of the blowing dust was at 7000 feet, with a flight-level visibility of 3 miles at 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>