CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

CIMSS-NOAA WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 14, 2025

DATA, INFORMATION, AND USE-INSPIRED SCIENCE:

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CIMSS Scientist Interviewed About Edmund Fitzgerald: This week marked the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a large iron ore ship that was lost during a violent storm on Lake Superior. Recent efforts by CIMSS scientists and the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) Satellite Data Services group have resulted in newly digitized images from the Synchronous Meteorological Satellite 2 (SMS-2), among the first geostationary satellites dedicated for meteorological observations and the precursor to today's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series. This digitization includes geolocation, enabling the imagery to be reprojected in new views. CIMSS Scientist Tim Wagner has combined these efforts with the ERA5 reanalysis to take a look at this storm from a modern perspective. These efforts attracted the attention of WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who interviewed Dr. Wagner as part of a story marking the 50th anniversary of the sinking. The WTMJ story is available online. (T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980; J. Robaidek, SSEC, 608-262-6025; D. Santek, CIMSS, 608-263-7410; S. Bachmeier, CIMSS, 608-263-3958; J. Feltz, CIMSS, 608-263-3434) 

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Figure: McIDAS view of the newly digitized SMS-2 geostationary satellite imagery overlaid with modern ERA5 reanalysis surface conditions of pressure (contour) and winds (barbs).

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: "2-day episode of resuspended ash transport from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta-Katmai in Alaska" (Nov. 7), "Satellite indicators of thundersnow during a lake effect snow event in southern Lake Michigan" (Nov. 10), "The 50th Anniversary of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: A New Perspective on an Old Storm" (Nov. 10), "Aurora Visible Over Much of Continental United States (Nov. 12), "Bald Mountain Fire in western Virginia" (Nov. 12), "Watching the evolution of the aurora utilizing direct broadcast" (Nov. 13) and "Satellite signatures of the Blue Origin New Glenn NG-2 launch" (Nov. 13). (S. Bachmeier, D. Schumacher, T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980)

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Figure: SMS-2 Infrared image at 0615 UTC on 10 November 1975, showing the midlatitude cyclone that was responsible for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior.

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Figure: GOES-19 Infrared image with an overlay of GLM Flash Extent Density and Flash Points at 0622 UTC on 10 November 2025, showing satellite-detected lightning activity highlighting thundersnow in the Chicago area during a lake effect snow event.

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