17 April 2019 thunderstorm event over northern Mexico as observed by GOES-16
May 1st, 2019 by Dan BikosBy Louie Grasso and Dan Bikos
On the day of 17 April 2019 observations indicated a significant upper-level trough over the southwest portions of the US. As is typical with this type of synoptic setup, southwesterly flow ahead of the trough existed over northern Mexico extending northeastward into Texas. In addition, this synoptic setup is associated with the development of a dryline in Texas and northern Mexico. In the following animation:
Upper left: GOES-16 Split Window Difference (SWD; 10.3 – 12.3 micron) with METARs
Upper right: GOES-16 Visible (0.64 micron)
Lower left: GOES-16 Low-level water vapor band (7.3 micron)
Lower right: GOES-16 Air Mass RGB product
the METARs indicate advection of warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico with dewpoints in the upper 60s along with drier southwesterly flow with dewpoints in the low 20s over southwest Texas and northern Mexico. Several features are evident in the SWD product that are absent from the visible imagery. For example, a moist boundary layer is displayed by deep orange/red colors ; there are two regions of blowing dust displayed as blue/purple, as shown below:
In advance of the synoptic scale trough, warm dry air is seen in the GOES-16 7.3 micron band imagery advecting northward from Mexico (yellow color) into central Texas and is associated with an Elevated Mixed Layer (EML) as confirmed by the morning Del Rio, TX sounding:
The air mass RGB product also shows the dryline quite clearly, in support of the SWD product. The above animation ends in early afternoon prior to convective initiation.
A few sequence of events are evident in the above animation that are associated with changes in the pre-storm environment that may lead to convective initiation. First, in the 7.3 micron imagery a region of cooling occurred coincident with the moist boundary layer in the SWD product (see annotated figure above). In particular, the western edge of the cooling is stationary at 7.3 micron while the eastern edge was advected northeastward with the mean flow.
In the above image, which shows topography, the western edge of the moist layer is annotated with the conventional dryline symbol. Although the dryline extends well into central Texas, the portion annotated in the figure is bounded by the approximate 2000 foot increase in elevation to the west.
As indicated in the 7.3 micron imagery in the above loop, cooling was coincident with the dryline segment. An open question becomes, is the cooling observed in other GOES-16 water vapor bands?
The following animation:
Shows the 3 GOES-16 water vapor bands in addition the to the IR band at 10.3 microns. Note that the region of cooling observed in the 7.3 micron band also became evident at 6.9 microns, however at 6.2 microns we do not see this cooling signature. An explanation is hypothesized that makes use of weighting functions, as shown below from the 12Z Del Rio, TX sounding:
Figure courtesy UW/CIMSS
In the weighting function profile, notice that overall the weighting function profile for the 7.3 micron band (magenta) existed at lower altitudes compared to the other 2 water vapor bands. Likewise, the weighting function profile for the 6.2 micron band (green) is in general above the other 2 water vapor bands. The interpretation is that the energy detected by GOES-16 ABI originated in the area between the curve and the vertical axis of each respective weighting function profile. A word of caution, energy detected by the satellite is not coming from just the peak. As a result of the relative position of each weighting function, brightness temperatures at 7.3 microns are generally warmer than at 6.9 microns which are themselves warmer than 6.2 microns. The cooling at 7.3 microns is likely caused by ascending motion at the western edge of the moist boundary layer due to backing surface winds forcing the moist boundary layer up the eastern slope of the ridge line depicted in the topographic map. This can be characterized by convective pre-conditioning of the environment for potential convective initiation.
As mentioned above, the moist boundary layer is evident in the SWD product. One explanation utilizes the weighting function profiles as shown below from the 12Z Del Rio, TX sounding for the 10.3 and 12.3 micron bands:
Figure courtesy UW/CIMSS
As seen in the figure, the entire weighting function profile for 10.3 microns is contained within the weighting function profile for 12.3 microns. As a result, absorption and re-emission of energy occurs at cooler temperatures at 12.3 microns compared to 10.3 microns. Consequently, the values of the SWD brightness temperatures is positive.
During the pre-conditioning stage, a few events can be identified. In the following loop:
At approximately 2146 UTC blowing dust, suggestive of downward mixing of high momentum air, headed eastward towards the moist layer (top left panel). The development of cumulus, cumulus congestus, and towering cumulus occurred on the western edge of the moist layer (top right panel). Further, there is evidence of orphan anvils around 2146 UTC. Also notice in the 7.3 micron imagery the progression of the cooling over a larger area above the moist layer (lower left panel). In addition, the westward migration of the moist layer in response to backing winds as evidence in the top left and bottom right panels. Lastly, evidence of the cold front is seen in the METARs on the upper left panel due to veering surface winds and decreasing temperatures. Also, the leading edge of cooler air is indicated by a subtle blue region expanding southward towards the moist layer in southwest Texas. The expanding cold front is also slightly less subtle in the lower right panel. These processes continued over the next few hours until convective initiation occurred slightly prior to 0000 UTC 18 April 2019.
One technique to increase contrast of features of interest is to modify color tables. For example, in our cold front of interest, we created one possible color table to apply to the 10.3 micron band. At 22:46 UTC a segment of the cold front is denoted by a standard symbol in the figure below as means to aid the reader in identifying the leading edge of the cold airmass.
The readers attention is directed towards the evolution of the cold front in the following loop. During the loop (click link)
notice that convective initiation occurs coincident with the region of cooling observed that was annotated in the 7.3 micron image above. In particular, convective initiation occurs prior to the arrival of the cold front in the IR loop above. This suggests that convective initiation occurred as a result of a process independent of the cold front. As an aside, note that convective initiation in Texas occurs in association with the cold front.
In the Del Rio, TX WSR-88D reflectivity loop:
From the start of the loop, and prior to convection initiation, through about 0106 UTC horizontal streets rotate counterclockwise consistent with backing winds which would aid in the secondary circulation along the sloping ridge in northern Mexico. Also recall the onset of orphan anvils as discussed above along with blowing dust and cooling at 7.3 microns combined indicate pre-conditioning of an environment towards convective initiation ahead of the cold front. Around 0030 UTC convective initiation occurs in the region of interest in northern Mexico. Also note in the radar imagery the two modes of convection – linear to the north and isolated to the south with a well defined right moving supercell.
Another useful tool to monitor convective initiation is the time-of-arrival tool in AWIPS. Here it is used with the SWD product to track a dust plume that is interpreted as the leading edge of strong southwest flow heading towards our region of cooling at 7.3 microns and separate from the cold front. As seen in the loop
as the dust (purple) advects northeastward a line of shallow cumulus form and is interpreted as the leading edge of the strong southwesterly flow that eventually arrives at the region of cooling at 7.3 micron triggering convective initiation independent of the cold front.
One last item to note: the loop speed of the above IR loop is critical in being able to identify the movement of subtle features. If the loop speed is too low, identification of certain features may be difficult or impossible. Therefore it is suggested that the reader experiment with different loop speeds and the rock feature to aid in identification of features of interest.
Posted in: Convection, Dust, GOES R, Severe Weather, | Comments closed
ALPW product for 26 April 2019 heavy rain / severe thunderstorm event
April 26th, 2019 by Dan Bikos
Posted in: Convection, Heavy Rain and Flooding Issues, Hydrology, | Comments closed
Nighttime Fog Monitoring
April 24th, 2019 by Jorel TorresSatellite fog monitoring during the nighttime can be a challenge since geostationary datasets are limited to infrared imagery. However, with the new GOES-16/17 and JPSS datasets users can employ polar-orbiting and geostationary imagery to identify and monitor areas of fog and low stratus (a.k.a liquid water clouds). As meteorologists, we know that fog can significantly reduce ‘near-surface’ visibilities affecting aviation and shipping industries along with the general public. Below is a static comparison over eastern Kansas and western Missouri highlighting the SNPP – VIIRS NCC, the GOES-16 Night Fog Difference and Nighttime Microphysics RGB products; all imagery has hourly METAR surface observations overlaid (i.e. shown in green). Note the hourly surface observations are at 0800Z, 24 April 2019, while satellite observations are at ~0747Z, 24 April 2019.
SNPP VIIRS Near-Constant Contrast (NCC) at 0747Z, 24 April 2019
NCC, a derived product of the Day/Night Band (DNB), illuminates atmospheric features and can sense emitted light sources (i.e. city lights) and reflected light sources (i.e cloud cover) during the nighttime. NCC is known as ‘nighttime visible’ imagery that appears similar to 0.64μm daytime visible imagery. In the imagery below, NCC observes emitted lights from cities and towns that reside along the interstates and in rural areas of Kansas and Missouri. Various levels of cloud cover encompass south-central and eastern Kansas along with western Missouri, where areas of fog are not conspicuous without the assistance of surface observations (i.e. fog indicated by parallel, horizontal green lines). In contrast, in northwestern Kansas, NCC observes fairly clear skies.
GOES-16 Night Fog Difference (10.3μm- 3.9μm) at 0746Z, 24 April 2019
Using an approximate time stamp, the GOES-16 Night Fog Difference is utilized. The Night Fog Difference product employs a channel difference of the 10.3μm Brightness Temperatures (BT) minus the 3.9μm BT to identify the fog and low stratus. Liquid water clouds are depicted as positive Brightness Temperature Differences (BTD) (i.e. seen in blue in the imagery below) since liquid water droplets do not emit radiation at 3.9μm but do at 10.3μm; employing the channel difference computes to a positive BTD. Conversely, ice crystals that are embedded in high clouds exhibit a negative BTD (i.e. in grey, refer to the bottom-right of the image).
Note there is an ellipse in western Kansas that observes positive BTD indicating fog. But is it really fog or low stratus we are seeing? The answer is ‘No’. Remember, the NCC product (above) observed clear skies in this area, where the surface observations validate the NCC. This is a false alarm that is produced by the Night Fog Difference product, and it is critical for users to validate this product with surface observations.
GOES-16 Nighttime Microphysics RGB at 0746Z, 24 April 2019
For further differentiation between fog and other types of clouds, look to the Nighttime Microphysics RGB (seen below) that employs the 10.3μm-3.9μm BTD and the 12.4μm-10.4μm BTD. Notice within the same ellipse in western Kansas the RGB observes clear skies (light pink) similarly to NCC and the surface observations.
Posted in: Aviation Weather, Fog, GOES, POES, Satellites, Visibility, | Comments closed
NCC monitoring severe weather during the nighttime
April 18th, 2019 by Jorel TorresMonitoring severe weather during the nighttime can be challenging since GOES-16/17 is limited to infrared imagery during the overnight hours. In complement to geostationary data sets, polar-orbiting satellite data can be utilized, specifically the Near-Constant Contrast (NCC) product.
For unfamiliar readers, NCC is a derived product of the Day/Night Band (DNB) that utilizes a sun/moon reflectance model that illuminates atmospheric features and senses emitted (e.g. lights from lightning, fires, city lights) and reflected (e.g. clouds) light sources during the nighttime. The product is considered ‘nighttime visible’ imagery that looks very similar to 0.64μm visible imagery that forecasters use during the daytime. Now NCC also has its limitations, since it is dependent on the lunar phase (i.e. full moon compared to new moon) and moon elevation angle (i.e. the moon position above or below the horizon). NCC imagery can range in texture, varying from ‘crisp and clear’ imagery to ‘fuzzy and non-conspicuous’ imagery depending upon the lunar phase and moon elevation angle. NCC is at 0.7µm, exhibiting a 750-m spatial resolution.
NCC observed severe weather over the southern United States during the early morning hours of 18 April 2019. Severe weather was experienced in several states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The NCC and GOES-16 infrared imagery (seen below) observed severe weather in the forms of convective cloud tops (i.e. very cold brightness temperatures), lightning, cloud cover and emitted lights from cities. Imagery is taken at ~0800 UTC on 18 April 2019, where NCC imagery is seen during the full moon phase of the lunar cycle. Notice in the NCC, the lightning that is observed via horizontal white streaks. The white streaks are due to the time discontinuity between the lightning strike (i.e. on the order of milliseconds) and the satellite overpass (i.e. on the order of seconds).
NCC at 0759 UTC, 18 April 2019 – Nighttime Visible Imagery
GOES-16 10.35μm at 0801 UTC, 18 April 2019 – Infrared imagery
The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) (seen below at the same timestamp) is also used in complement to NCC, in identifying where the high density lightning strikes are observed within the line of storms (red dots); it matches up quite well with NCC. Note, GLM is overlaid onto GOES-16 10.35μm.
GLM at 0801 UTC, 18 April 2019 – Group Flash Counts Density (via CIRA SLIDER)
Posted in: GOES R, Lightning, POES, Satellites, Severe Weather, | Comments closed
High Plains Snowstorm
April 10th, 2019 by Jorel TorresA strong extratropical cyclone moved through the Rocky Mountains and western high plains over the course of 10 April 2019. The low-pressure system produced heavy precipitation in the forms of rain and snow, along with blustery winds.
The system produced heavy snow over a large areal extent spanning from Colorado, Wyoming, portions of Nebraska and South Dakota. Below are surface observations captured at ~20 UTC, 10 April 2019. Note the areas of snow designated by pink asterisks, where the increase in the number of asterisks corresponds with the increase in snow intensity. Northerly and northeasterly high winds gusting over 40 mph were observed as well.
Surface Observations – at 1958 UTC, 10 April 2019
In complement to the surface observations are microwave observations from polar-orbiting satellites, notably, in the form of the Blended Snowfall Rate (SFR) product exhibiting a liquid equivalent snowfall rate. Image below is a static SFR product from the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument on-board the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite. Note high liquid equivalent snowfall rates are observed in north-central Colorado, southeast Wyoming, north-central Nebraska and South Dakota, where heavy snowfall rates in South Dakota ranged from 1.5-4 mm/hr or 0.06-0.16 inches/hr. Another benefit of SFR is the product can observe snowfall rates over large domains, where in comparison to radar, radar coverage can be limited due to data gaps or beam blockages.
S-NPP ATMS -Liquid equivalent snowfall rate at 2020 UTC, 10 April 2019.
In the following two images, notice the National Weather Service (NWS) ‘preliminary’ high snow totals observed over western South Dakota and north-central Colorado are located over the same domains as the high snowfall rates observed by the SFR product.
NWS Preliminary Snow Totals as of o1oo UTC, 11 April 2019 over Western South Dakota
NWS Preliminary Snow Totals as of o1oo UTC, 11 April 2019 over the Front Range of Colorado
Posted in: POES, Satellites, Winter Weather, | Comments closed