CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

CIMSS-NOAA WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING JANUARY 31, 2026

DATA, INFORMATION, AND USE-INSPIRED SCIENCE:

Multi-Sensor Burn Scar Maps (BRISK) In Use: One of the major problems facing forecasters and emergency managers during the response to wildfires is the lack of early and ongoing burn scar information during wildland fire events. This is important since heavily burned areas can be extremely vulnerable to flash flooding and debris flows caused by rain events as soon as fires ignite, especially in regions with steep terrain. This is because the vegetation on the ground that would normally absorb the rainfall and stabilize the soil turns in to an ash layer, which covers an impermeable hardened soil, that can accelerate runoff. With support from NOAA's JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) program and the Weather Program Office, we have developed a daily BRISK (Burned area Rapid Interim Severity Risk) map to help fill this information gap. The BRISK map is produced by using innovative cloud-computing technology to merge multiple satellite observations combined together to make daily burn scar maps available to responders for fires that exceed 1,000 acres. Automation of this process and development of a public access portal in the summer of 2025 makes it possible for forecasters to directly access the daily maps as soon as they are created. The attached graphic includes the following testimonial from a Senior Service Hydrologist: “I have been able to make use of the BRISK map for the Madre burn area in San Luis Obispo County in my forecast area here in Southern California. The BAER team is currently assessing the burn area, but I was able to access your information in advance. We have a slight chance of thunderstorms in the vicinity of the burn area in the next few days and this does provide us with some advanced intel regarding areas of potential high risk, especially along Highway 166.”

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Figure: Testimonial from Jayme Laber, Senior Service Hydrologist at Oxnard, CA.

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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: "Aircraft dissipation trails drift across Ohio" (Jan. 24), "Thunderstorms prompt the issuance of Flash Flood Warnings in American Samoa" (Jan. 24), "Freezing Rain: The NUCAPS Perspective" (Jan. 26), "Tehuano gap wind event" (Jan. 26), "Major January winter storm affects much of the southern and eastern US" (Jan. 27) and "Mesolows in Lake Superior" (Jan. 29). (S. Bachmeier, T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980)

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Figure: Gridded NUCAPS image of 850 mb temperature at 1830 UTC on January 24, 2026. While 850 mb temperatures were above freezing (shades of red/pink/orange) over the Ark-La-Tex region, the surface air temperatures were below freezing -- an ideal setup for freezing rain to occur.

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Figure: GOES-19 Day Snow-Fog RGB image at 1701 UTC on January 27, 2026 -- showing the large swaths of significant ice accretion (darker shades of red) from freezing rain and/or sleet that occurred across parts of the Deep South, Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic regions during a large winter storm on January 23-26.

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