CIMSS-NOAA Weekly Report [ Archive ]

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

DATA, INFORMATION, AND USE-INSPIRED SCIENCE:

CIMSS Turbulence Probability Product Identified Area of Extreme Turbulence: On the evening of 30 July, Delta airlines flight 56 from Salt Lake City departed for Amsterdam. However, the aircraft diverted to Minneapolis and 25 passengers and/or crew were taken to local hospitals. This diversion occurred after the aircraft experienced "extreme" turbulence, as indicated in the associated Pilot Report (PIREP). The aircraft, as identified in the image by the red extreme PIREP marker, was entering an area where the GOES Turbulence Product indicated a greater than 50% probability of moderate or greater turbulence. The product is a machine learning product developed at CIMSS and using geostationary satellite imagery plus numerical weather prediction data, and is available in real-time at https://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/turbulence/ and also via AWIPS. It is currently in transition to operations at NESDIS, where we intend for it to receive more visibility and improve safety. (S. Griffin, CIMSS, 608-262-0986, T. Wimmers, CIMSS, T. Wagner, CIMSS)

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Figure: CIMSS SatTurbProb and pilot reports (PIREPS) of turbulence from 30 July 2025 at 2350 UTC. The red extreme report resulted in a diversion and 25 people taken to hospitals.

CIMSS GOES-19 VOLCAT Scientific Accuracy Assessment: The VOLCAT (VOLcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit) was developed as a collaborative project between CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies) and NOAA to utilize satellite data to automatically detect, track and characterize volcanic clouds. The VOLCAT products are utilized by the aviation sector (provided via experimental near real-time satellite data processing at CIMSS) for safe and efficient flight route planning. After the successful launch of GOES-19, the VOLCAT science team needed to assess accuracy of VOLCAT products using GOES-19 ABI data compared to GOES-16 ABI data. Because GOES-19 would replace GOES-16 as GOES-EAST April 2025, the accuracy assessment would lend confidence in GOES-19 generated VOLCAT products. The figure below demonstrates the accuracy of GOES-19 volcanic ash height calculation as it compares to GOES-16. This represents data from 27 case eruptions located in and around Central America between October 2024 and March 2025. The distributions show the average VOLCAT calculated volcanic ash height errors (relative to manually deduced truth height) were -1.79 km and -1.88 km (GOES-19 and GOES-16 respectively). These results indicate the GOES-19 VOLCAT derived volcanic cloud heights are consistent with GOES-16, and are also within aviation accuracy requirements. (B. Andersen, CIMSS; Mike Pavolonis, NOAA; Justin Sieglaff, CIMSS; Corey Calvert, CIMSS; and Kati Togliatti, CIMSS)

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Figure: The relative frequency distribution of VOLCAT ash cloud height retrievals relative to manually derived truth. The distributions represent 6 months of assessment cases and show GOES-19 (right) VOLCAT calculations are compatible with GOES-16 (left) VOLCAT calculations.

PEOPLE, AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

TRAVEL AND MEETINGS:

TRAINING AND EDUCATION:

CIMSS Scientist Presents to Australian VLab Centre of Excellence: This week, CIMSS (Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies) scientist Tim Wagner was an invited presenter at the monthly meeting of the Australian VLab Centre of Excellence Regional Focus Group. Dr. Wagner presented on the recent eruption of Mt. Lewotobi in Indonesia, using this case as a framework for describing CIMSS and its role in global satellite science. Through CIMSS and SSEC-developed tools such as RealEarth, the Volcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit (VOLCAT), and the CIMSS Satellite Blog, Dr. Wagner demonstrated how CIMSS products can identify volcanic activity as well as provide a valuable resource for forecaster training and education. Over 50 attendees from 12 countries attended the presentation. (T. Wagner, CIMSS, 608-890-1980).

MEDIA INTERACTIONS AND REQUESTS:

Wildfire Air Quality Hazards in Door County Wisconsin: SSEC Director Brad Pierce discussed the recent Canadian Wildfire smoke impacts in Door County Wisconsin with Debra Fitzgerald during a recent Door County Pulse Podcast that was broadcast on July 30, 2025 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/2iqCce12GiffB8UBIvCsoO) (R.B. Pierce, SSEC, 608-890-1892)

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: "LEO observations of intensifying Tropical Storm Krosa" (July 25), "Decaying Mesoscale Convective System’s outflow boundary produces a low-level undular bore, along with a vertically-propagating gravity wave" (July 28), "Hail in the Samoan Archipelago" (July 29), "Actinoform cloud feature passes just north of the Hawaiian Islands" (July 30) and "Turbulence Impacting US Flights, Inspiring the Boston Red Sox" (July 31). (S. Bachmeier, D. Schumacher, T. Wagner, 608-890-1980, CIMSS)

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Figure: GOES-19 Upper-level Water Vapor image at 2350 UTC on July 30, 2025, with contours of Moderate or Greater (MOG) Turbulence Probability and a plot of the Pilot Report of Extreme Turbulence over southern Wyoming.

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Figure: GOES-19 Nighttime Microphysics RGB image at 1026 UTC on July 28, 2025, displaying an undular bore (pale shades of white) moving southward from a decaying Mesoscale Convective System in the Upper Midwest.

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