![\"GOES-16](\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/03\/190313_goes16_airmassRGB_Plains_cyclone_anim.gif\")
<\/a>GOES-16 Air Mass RGB images [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>An unusually deep midlatitude cyclone — which easily met the criteria of a “bomb cyclone”, with its central pressure dropping 25 hPa in only 12 hours (surface analyses<\/strong><\/a>) — developed over the central US on 13 March 2019<\/strong><\/a> (WPC storm summary<\/strong><\/a>). GOES-16 (GOES-East)<\/em> Air Mass RGB<\/strong><\/a> images from the AOS<\/strong><\/a> site (above)<\/strong><\/em> showed the large size of the cloud shield — and the deeper red hues over the High Plains indicated the presence of ozone-rich air (from the stratosphere) within the atmospheric column as the tropopause descended. A preliminary new all-time low surface pressure of 975.1 hPa occurred at Pueblo, Colorado just after 13 UTC; to the east of Pueblo, a 970.4 hPa minimum pressure recorded at Lamar (plot<\/strong><\/a>) possibly set a new state record<\/strong><\/a> for Colorado.<\/p>\n On a map of NWS<\/strong><\/a> warnings\/advisories valid at 14 UTC (below)<\/strong>,<\/em> Blizzard Warnings (red)<\/em> extended from Colorado to the US\/Canada border. South of the Blizzard Warnings, High Wind Warnings (brown)<\/em> were in effect to the US\/Mexico border.<\/p>\n Map of NWS warnings and advisories at 14 UTC [click to enlarge]<\/p><\/div>GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images (below)<\/strong><\/em> displayed a hook-like signature resembling that of a sting jet, which developed over the Texas\/Oklahoma Panhandle area after 11 UTC. At 14 UTC<\/strong><\/a> an interesting burst of surface wind gusts occurred at 3 sites — Burlington CO<\/strong><\/a>, Goodland KS<\/strong><\/a> and Colby KS<\/strong><\/a> — which may have been related to the downward transfer of momentum along the leading edge of the sting jet flow. The corresponding 7.3 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a> Low-level Water Vapor animations are also available: GIF<\/strong><\/a> | MP4<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n GOES-16 Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9 \u00b5m)<\/em> images [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>The MIMIC Total Precipitable Water<\/strong><\/a> product (below)<\/strong><\/em> showed the northward surge of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>During the afternoon hours, the strong surface winds began to create plumes of blowing dust across parts of southeastern New Mexico and western Texas — a blowing dust signature first became apparent on GOES-16 Split Window Difference<\/strong><\/a> imagery as plumes of yellow, but then became more obvious on “Red” Visible (0.64 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images as the afternoon forward scattering angle increased (below)<\/strong><\/em>. Blowing dust reduced the surface visibility to 1-2 miles at Snyder (KSNK<\/strong><\/a>) and Lubbock (KLBB<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 \u00b5m)<\/em> and Split Window Difference images [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>The blowing dust signature (lighter shades of brown)<\/em> was also easily seen in late-afternoon GOES-16 True Color RGB images (below)<\/strong><\/em> — the dust plume reached southwestern Oklahoma by the end of the daytime hours, restricting the visibility to 5 miles at Frederick (KFDR<\/strong><\/a>). The blowing dust was also evident in True Color imagery from GOES-17, as seen here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n GOES-16 True Color RGB images [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>Not long after the cyclone reached its lowest analyzed surface pressure of 968 hPa at 18 UTC, an overpass of the Suomi NPP satellite around 19 UTC provided a swath of NUCAPS<\/strong><\/a> soundings covering much of the storm (below)<\/strong><\/em>. The air was very dry and stable near the near the center of the surface low in eastern Colorado<\/strong><\/a> (TPW=0.29″, CAPE=0 J\/kg),<\/em> in western Texas<\/strong><\/a> (TPW=0.31″, CAPE=0 J\/kg)<\/em> and near the frontal triple point in southeastern Nebraska<\/strong><\/a> (TPW=0.30″, CAPE=0 Jkg)<\/em> — and out ahead of the warm front, the air was moist but stable behind a line of thunderstorms in northeastern Arkansas<\/strong><\/a> (TPW=1.09″, CAPE=0 J\/kg)<\/em> but both moist and unstable in western Mississippi<\/strong><\/a> (TPW=1.36″, CAPE=3506 J\/kg)<\/em>.<\/p>\n Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 \u00b5m) image, with overlays of the surface analysis and available NUCAPS soundings [click to enlarge]<\/p><\/div>During the early stages of cyclone development, this system spawned severe thunderstorms that produced tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds across New Mexico and Texas (SPC storm reports<\/strong><\/a>) late in the day on 12 March<\/strong><\/a>. A GOES-17 (GOES-West)<\/em> Mesoscale Domain Sector<\/strong><\/a> had been positioned over that region — which was helpful during a brief GOES-16 data outage<\/strong><\/a> — providing images at 1-minute intervals (below)<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n GOES-17 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 \u00b5m)<\/em> images, with plots of SPC storm reports [click to play animation | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div> A Great Plains cyclone of historic proportions is now underway across the central U.S. Here\u2019s the latest… pic.twitter.com\/CLAsDmmOkZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) March 13, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>\n