CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

CIMSS AND ASPB WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING AUGUST 27, 2021

PRODUCTS AND APPLICATIONS:

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

PUBLICATIONS:

BAMS Manuscript on Great Lakes Snowfall Published: A manuscript titled "Snowfall in the Northern Great Lakes: Lessons Learned from a Multi-Sensor Observatory" was recently published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0128.1). This study documents snowfall regimes as observed by combined profiling radar, NEXRAD, in situ microphysical, and standard meteorological observations at the Marquette, Michigan National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office. The ubiquitous nature of snow produced by very shallow cloud structures at this Great Lakes site is highlighted in the manuscript. Microphysical variability accompanying different snowfall regimes and transitional snowfall events is also documented. Extreme snowfall events that are enhanced by lake-orographic processes are also presented. The results presented in this study are a crucial component to numerous satellite algorithm development and validation activities. Mark Kulie (NESDIS/STAR) is the lead author of the manuscript. Claire Pettersen (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, CIMSS), Aronne Merrelli (CIMSS), Tim Wagner (CIMSS), Norm Wood (CIMSS),and Marian Mateling (University of Wisconsin Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UW-AOS) are coauthors. This collaborative project also features numerous coauthors from the National Weather Service, NASA, and other domestic and international academic partners. (M. Kulie, E/RA2, 608-263-6583)

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Figure: Profiling radar reflectivity (a), Doppler velocity (b), Doppler spectrum width (c), and snow particle number concentrations as a function of particle size (d) during a synoptic to lake-enhanced to lake-effect transition snowfall event at the Marquette, MI National Weather Service office. Snowfall rates and snow-to-liquid ratios (e), meteorological observations (f, g), and over-lake sensible and latent heat flux observations (h) are also shown.

WORKSHOPS, CONFERENCES, AND MEETINGS:

Poster Presentations at National Weather Association Annual Meeting: Scott Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) oversaw two poster presentations at the annual meeting of the National Weather Association (NWA), which meeting was a hybrid conference that was held in-person in Tulsa, OK and also on-line everywhere else. Posters covered (1) Forecast Decision Training Division (FDTD) Satellite Applications Webinars (co-authors: Dan Bikos from the Cooperative Institute for Reseach in the Atmosphere (CIRA), Brian Motta (FDTD) and Kevin Scharfenberg (FDTD), which webinars are 30-minute trainings led by National Weather Service forecasters and (2) CIMSS Training activities focused on the NWS Pacific Region. These were remote presentations. (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425)

TRAINING AND EDUCATION:

Undergraduates Speak Out about Climate Change: NOAA CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies) just completed the 9th summer offering of an undergraduate course on Climate and Climate Change (AOS 102) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). This course is an excellent example of the benefits of locating NOAA cooperative institutes at universities, and the end result of two grants obtained by CIMSS. The first grant supported an asynchronous online course for middle and high school science teachers conveying foundational science behind the 2007 IPCC Summary for Policymakers. A few years later, CIMSS collaborated with Madison Area Technical College (MATC) and the UW Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) for the development of an introductory college-level climate course. For several summers, Dr. Steve Ackerman and Margaret Mooney from CIMSS taught the course together. More recently, Mooney teaches the course solo with the help of graduate student teaching assistants and Ackerman serves as the AOS faculty on record. NOAA data is featured throughout the course and updated annually. Listen to student capstone "elevator speeches" answering the question "what do you think about climate change?" posted online with student permissions at https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/education/AOS102/. (M. Mooney, CIMSS, margaret.mooney@ssec.wisc.edu, S. Ackerman, CIMSS)

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VISIT Teletraining on Mesoscale Convective Vortices: Scott Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) gave a remote Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) lesson on Mesoscale Convective Vortices (MCVs) to National Weather Service forecasters at two offices (San Juan, and Austin/San Antonio) on 23 August 2021. The 35-minute training was delivered via WebEx (vs. VISITview) and was followed by a Question/Answer session. (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425)

VISIT Teletraining on Above-Anvil Cirrus Plumes: Scott Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) gave a remote Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) lesson on Above-Anvil Cirrus Plumes (AACPs), cloud structures that are strongly associated with severe weather, to a National Weather Service forecaster at the Austin/San Antonio office on 23 August 2021. The 20-minute training was delivered via WebEx (vs. VISITview) and was followed by a Question/Answer session. (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425)

VISIT Training on Fog/Low Stratus IFR Probability Products: Scott Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) gave a Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) lesson on GOES-R Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) Probability fields (to detect fog) to a forecaster at the San Juan PR forecast office. The remotely-given 30-minute session was followed by Questions/Answers. (Scott Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425)

MEDIA AND OUTREACH:

SSEC and CIMSS Scientists in the News: Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) and the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) provide expert interviews, imagery and case studies to promote science. This week: 1. CIMSS Satellite Blog contributors Scott Lindstrom and Scott Bachmeier published case studies on "Tropical Depression Nine in the western Caribbean" (Aug. 26), "Northern California fires" (Aug. 26), "Smoke from wildfires in Northern California" (Aug. 25-26), "SAR Winds over the Pacific Ocean" (Aug. 25), "Greenwood Fire in northeast Minnesota" (Aug. 23), "River valley fog across the Mid-South" (Aug. 23), "Tropical Storm Henri makes landfall" (Aug. 22), "Henri in the Day Night Band as it approaches southern New England" (Aug. 22), "Henri becomes a hurricane off the US East Coast" (Aug. 21), "Historic rainfall and floods in middle Tennessee" (Aug. 21), and "Tropical Storm Henri just north of the Bahamas" (Aug. 20). Read more: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/. (J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164, S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, A. Ross, SSEC, S. Bachmeier, CIMSS)

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Figure: Less cloudiness on Aug. 26, 2021 allowed for a clearer view of the smoke from Northern California wildfires via GOES-17 True Color RGB images. Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/42215. Credit: CIMSS, Geo2Grid.

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Figure: The Morphed Integrated Microwave Imagery at CIMSS - Total Precipitable Water (MIMIC-TPW) animation from Aug. 20-21, 2021 captured the moisture-rich environment that resulted in thunderstorms, historic rains and flash floods across middle Tennessee. Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/42133. Credit: CIMSS.

OTHER: