VISIT: Meteorological Interpretation Blog

By Sheldon Kusselson Loop of ALPW 700-500 mb layer over a long time period

On 4 July 2020 a thunderstorm developed in southern Saskatchewan that led to numerous tornadoes (video, picture, pictures). Let’s analyze various satellite derived moisture products in the time period leading up to the tornadic storm.  The following loop 4-panel loop: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=training/visit/loops/4july20/4panel_moisture&loop_speed_ms=80 Upper-left: GOES-16 visible (0.64 micron) imagery. Upper-right: Advected Layer Precipitable Water (ALPW) product in Continue Reading

This blog entry consists of a youtube video: The time lapse video discussed above can be seen in its entirety below (courtesy Scott Longmore, CIRA):

This blog entry consists of a youtube video: To view only the GOES visible loop animation (without recorded audio), see: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=training/visit/loops/26apr15_vis&number_of_images_to_display=52

On 2 April 2015, severe thunderstorms were forecast by the SPC as summarized in their Day 1 convective outlook graphic: We will focus on the western edge of the enhanced outlook area which is roughly southeast Kansas, northwest Oklahoma, southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas. One of the key ingredients for this severe weather setup was Continue Reading

This blog entry consists of a youtube video (8 minutes in length): http://youtu.be/36lR8Y7xvOw After viewing the video, compare the GOES-14 RSO visible loop that would’ve been as seen on AWIPS: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=training/visit/loops/20may14_rso&number_of_images_to_display=20 with the SRSOR loop over the same time period (1940 – 2040 UTC) – this is a 194 frame loop so be patient for Continue Reading

This blog entry is available in 2 formats: 1) Youtube video (25 minutes):  http://youtu.be/H6jMoT3sGiw 2) Web format (below): GOES Super Rapid Scan Operations for Research (SRSOR) 1-minute imagery was available for the severe weather event of 21 May 2014 that affected Colorado and Wyoming: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/140521_rpts.html At the surface, southeast winds advected moisture into the Denver Continue Reading

On 6 June 2012, GOES-15 SRSO was called, meaning intermittent 1-minute scans would be collected over a mesoscale sector centered in eastern Colorado.  The Storm Prediction Center had a slight risk of severe storms over the region, and by late afternoon convective initiation occurred along the Denver Convergence Zone north and east of Denver.  The Continue Reading

The severe weather event of March 2, 2012 was forecast well ahead of time by the Storm Prediction Center to be associated with significant severe weather: An animation of GOES-13 visible imagery can be found here: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/templates/loop_directory.asp?data_folder=dev/lindsey/loops/2mar12_vis&image_width=1020&image_height=720 Sufficient clearing took place over a large portion of the High and Moderate risk areas during the day, Continue Reading

Knowledge of various air masses and low-level convergence boundaries in the pre-storm environment is critical for a severe weather event.  This blog post will examine the various air masses and boundaries associated with the 27 April 2011 tornado outbreak in the southeast. First, we will examine the GOES 10.7 um infrared (IR) imagery during the Continue Reading