![](\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2022\/10\/221020_goes18_waterVapor_HI_anim.gif\")
<\/a>GOES-18 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 \u00b5m) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>GOES-18 (GOES-West)<\/em> Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images (above)<\/strong><\/em> displayed a quasi-stationary train of gravity waves north and northwest of Hawai`i on 20 October 2022. There were no pilot reports of turbulence in the vicinity of these waves — likely due to the lack of rapid wave propagation, and the non-interfering nature of their orientation.<\/p>\n These waves developed in a region of diffluent upper-tropospheric flow, in the exit region of a jet streak<\/strong><\/a> along the western edge of an anomalously-deep<\/strong><\/a> retrograding upper-level trough north of the islands — as shown in a 2-hour sequence of GOES-18 Water Vapor images with plots of GFS model 300 hPa winds valid at 12 UTC (below)<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n GOES-18 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 \u00b5m) images, with 12 UTC GFS model 300 hPa wind barbs plotted in yellow [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>The 300 hPa winds were at a pressure level closely corresponding to that of the peak GOES-West ABI Band 08 (6.2 \u00b5m) weighting function<\/strong><\/a> at that location — derived using GFS model fields (below)<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/a>