CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

CIMSS AND ASPB WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 9, 2022

DATA, INFORMATION, AND USE-INSPIRED SCIENCE:

Fractional Snow Cover Provisional Review: The GOES-16 and GOES-18 ABI L2+ Fractional Snow Cover (FSC) Provisional Peer-Stakeholder Product Validation Review (PS-PVR) was held on 9 December 2022. The objective of the review was to assess the state of the GOES-16 and GOES-18 ABI L2+ products according to the definition of Provisional maturity. The review covered data from both GOES-16 and GOES-18 but not GOES-17, as that spacecraft is entering storage mode. The snow fraction presentation was given by Peter Romanov (CREST/CUNY) with input from Yinghui Liu and Jeff Key (STAR). This was a review of the new Enterprise Fractional Snow Cover (FSC) algorithm, which was adapted from the VIIRS algorithm. The review panel was chaired by Dan Lindsey and includes members from the Geostationary Earth-Orbiting Satellite Operational Requirements Working Group (GORWG), the Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO), NWS, and GOES-R. The product passed the Provisional maturity review and the operational product is now available to users. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jeff.key@noaa.gov; Y. Liu, E/RA2, 608-890-1893, yinghui.liu@noaa.gov)

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Figure: Examples of the GOES-18 binary (bottom) and fractional (top) snow cover product.

LightningCast Guam sector established in AWIPS: This summer, ProbSevere LightningCast output was displayed on a RealEarth webpage for the NWS in Guam. LightningCast is a deep-learning model that uses geostationary satellite data to predict the probability of lightning in the next hour at any given location. While LightningCast was trained on GOES-16 data, it has been successfully adapted to use geostationary satellite data from Japan's Himawari satellites, which cover Guam. After a trial evaluation period where the Guam office found predictive value from LightningCast, the office then requested the data to be made available in their Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS). Personnel from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and NWS Pacific Region were able to establish this sector in AWIPS and associated data flow for the NWS in Guam. (J. Cintineo, john.cintineo@ssec.wisc.edu; L. Cronce, lee.cronce@ssec.wisc.edu; M. Pavolonis, michael.pavolonis@noaa.gov).

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Figure: ProbSevere LightningCast probability contours overlaid VIIRS 0.7-micron reflectance in AWIPS. Guam is the island in the northwest of the image.

FUTURE OUTLOOK:

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

William Straka receives JPSS Unseen Heroes award: William Straka received the JPSS "Unseen Heroes" award for his continuous and timely support to various disaster mitigation efforts including Hurricane Ian. He and Sanmei Li (George Mason University) have provided critical support to world-wide severe flooding events. Their quick response to these events has been a critical resource for decisionmakers. Hurricane Ian was the latest example of their support. As Ian approached Florida, FEMA convened a daily telecon to evaluate products from its partners to determine those areas endangered by Ian and the extent of the damage it caused. Based on years of FEMA support, William and Sanmei were well prepared to provide the satellite flood products that FEMA has come to depend on. William was on these daily telecons until FEMA no longer considered them necessary. The products and William's expert analysis remain a cornerstone of FEMA's extensive database. (J. Key, E/RA2, 608-263-2605, jeff.key@noaa.gov; J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164)

TRAVEL AND MEETINGS:

TRAINING AND EDUCATION:

GOES-R IFR Probability Training for WFO Pittsburgh: Scott Lindstrom from the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) led a Virtual Institute for Satellite Integration Training (VISIT) webinar on GOES-R IFR Probability, the GOES-R Level 2 product for Fog/Low Stratus Detection. The presentation was given to a forecaster at the Pittsburgh, PA office (WFO PBZ) and was concluded with a discussion on the possibility of a Brown Bag presentation for the office in the near future (S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, 608 263 4425)

MEDIA INTERACTIONS AND REQUESTS:

SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOG Posts:

SSEC and CIMSS Scientists in the News: 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 Bachmeier and Scott Lindstrom published these case studies: "NOAA-21 First Light imagery via Direct Broadcast" (Dec. 9), "Changes in Satellite signatures at 1.6 µm near Mauna Loa" (Dec. 8), "Geo2grid software version 1.1" (Dec. 7), "ACSPO SSTs over the Gulf of Mexico" (Dec. 7), "Anomalously strong jet stream off the Arctic coast of Alaska" (Dec. 3), "Landsat and GOES signatures of the Mauna Loa eruption" (Dec. 2), and "Blowing dust across parts of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas" (Dec. 2). Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/. (S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, S. Lindstrom, CIMSS, J. Phillips, SSEC, 608-262-8164)

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Figure: The Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, or VIIRS, instrument aboard NOAA-21 is now sending data to Earth. This image, from Dec. 5, 2022, was downloaded and processed using the latest Community Satellite Processing Package, CSPP, at CIMSS. Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/49066. Credit: CIMSS, NOAA.

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Figure: GOES-17 upper-level water vapor images include contours of AK-NAM40 model max wind isotachs and showed the flow associated with an anomalously-strong jet stream off the Arctic coast of Alaska on Dec. 3, 2022. Read more at the CIMSS Satellite Blog: https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/archives/48996. Credit: CIMSS, NOAA.

PUBLICATIONS:

OTHER: