CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

CIMSS-NOAA WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 1, 2025

DATA, INFORMATION, AND USE-INSPIRED SCIENCE:

PEOPLE, AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

TRAVEL AND MEETINGS:

SpectrumX team visit to SSEC: The National Science Foundation (NSF) SpectrumX Center — an NSF Spectrum Innovation Center — held its Fall Center Meeting at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from October 20–21, 2025. SpectrumX aims to maximize the societal benefits of the publicly owned radio spectrum through innovation in spectrum research, education, and cross-sector partnerships among industry, government, and academia. Scientists from the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) participated in the meeting and are collaborating with SpectrumX to investigate the impacts of radio frequency interference (RFI) on microwave satellite observations and their influence on numerical weather forecasts. As part of the event, SSEC organized a tour of its research center for meeting participants, featuring visits to the instrumentation laboratory, the data center, the SSEC Portable Atmospheric Research Center (SPARC), and the rooftop. (A. Lim, CIMSS, 608-265-8620 and Z. Li, CIMSS, 608-890-1982) 

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Figure: Group photo on the rooftop.

TRAINING AND EDUCATION:

MEDIA INTERACTIONS AND REQUESTS:

CIMSS Media Interviews for Hurricane Melissa: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) hurricane researchers Derrick Herndon and Sarah Griffin conducted interviews for local and national media outlets regarding the historic landfall of Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. These interviews placed the storm in historical context based on preliminary analysis. They also discussed how CIMSS scientists are using NOAA-funded tropical cyclone algorithms to assist the National Hurricane Center in assessing the storm's intensity, structure and environment. Interviews with NBC News and local TV station WMTV 15 are available online.

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Figure: Derrick Herndon conducting a media interview on Hurricane Melissa.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND BLOG Posts:

CIMSS Satellite Blog Updates: The Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) Satellite Blog (https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-blog/) was updated with the following posts: "Orographic waves downwind of the Hawaiian Islands" (Oct. 23), "Melissa becomes a Hurricane southeast of Jamaica, then rapidly intensifies to a Category 5 storm" (Oct. 26), "Category 5 Hurricane Melissa makes landfall on Jamaica" (Oct. 28) and "Land Breeze Over Western Lake Michigan" (Oct. 30). (S. Bachmeier, T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980)

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Figure: GOES-19 Visible (left) and Infrared (right) images with plots of GLM Flash Points -- showing Category 5 Hurricane Melissa as it was making landfall along the southwest coast of Jamaica at 1700 UTC on October 28, 2025.

PUBLICATIONS:

OTHER: