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.