Using GOES-16 Imagery and Derived Products in NWS Operations to Assess the Pre-Convective Environment (223)

Bill Line, NOAA/NWS Pueblo, CO, Pueblo, CO

 

Abstract:

The first in the GOES-R series of satellites launched in November 2016, becoming GOES-16, and eventually GOES-East. Data from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) became available to National Weather Service forecasters in AWIPS-II in March 2017. Compared to the previous GOES Imager, the ABI provides users with three times the spectral channels, four times the spatial resolution, and five times better temporal coverage. These improvements are particularly valuable when assessing the pre-convective environment. The split window channel difference, under the appropriate circumstances, highlights moisture boundaries and relative maxima prior to the development of the first cumulus cloud. Rapidly updating CAPE and TPW fields capture moisture and instability trends, including the location of gradients and progression of moisture return. Derived Motion Winds are used in conjunction with surface wind observations to compute bulk layer shear, and to assess the model depiction of upper and low-level jets. Finally, 1-min (and 30-sec) 0.5 km visible imagery allows for quicker and more confident detection and tracking of relevant features and phenomena such as boundaries, cumulus cloud trends, and convective initiation. This presentation explores the use of imagery, products, and capabilities, new with GOES-16, in NWS operations to assess the pre-convective environment.