NOAA Image of the Day

Tornado Tracks Streak Across Oklahoma

The rotation of tornadoes creates a distinctive signature in radar data, and can be used to estimate the track that the system takes over land. This image shows the rotational velocity of the systems that passed over Oklahoma on the afternoon of May 20, 2013. A single cohesive structure can be seen to cut across seven counties, with Moore directly in the middle.

The rotational velocity data, being run experimentally by the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, is helping to identify potential tornado structures and increase lead-time for severe weather warnings.

High Speed Imagery of the Oklahoma Tornadoes

On May 20, 2013 as conditions were ripening for severe weather outbreaks in the U.S. Plains, the NOAA Satellite and Information Service placed the GOES-13 satellite into rapid scan operations - meaning that the satellite went from taking imagery every 30 minutes to every 5 minutes. The added frequency greatly assists meteorologists in understanding rapidly evolving weather events, such as the tornadoes that struck Oklahoma that day. This animation shows the GOES-13 visible imagery during the daylight hours of the 20th. Additionally, GOES-15 (stationed over the Western U.S. and Pacific) was acquiring 1 minute imagery at the same time, which can be seen here from the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere.

High Speed Imagery of the Oklahoma Tornadoes

Satellite Image of Oklahoma Tornado

Acquired at 2:55 CT on May 20, 2013, this image from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite shows the storms developing directly over central Oklahoma. One minute later an incredibly destructive tornado touched down in Moore, OK, killing dozens and leaving the town utterly destroyed.

April 2013 Global Temperatures 13th Highest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that the April 2013 global average temperature of at 57.64°F (14.22°C) was the 13th warmest year on record (dating back to 1880). This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Europe, central Asia, Russian Far East, southwestern Australia, southern Argentina, and western Greenland. Meanwhile, most of North America, northern and western Europe, northeastern Asia, central South America, and much of equatorial Africa were notably below average. In addition, the average April sea ice extent was 5.81 million square miles, 170,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average of 5.55 million square miles, resulting in the seventh smallest monthly April extent on record.

Converging Air Masses Makes for a Rough Day in the Central Plains

Cold, dry air sweeping down from Canada mixing with warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean are merging in the U.S. Plains today, creating conditions for some very turbulent weather. A tornado outbreak today in the early morning hours caused destruction in Kansas and Oklahoma. This image shows the air temperature at 40,000 Pascals (about 23,000 feet high in the atmosphere) using data outputs from the NOAA North America Model for 2100z on May 20, 2013, combined with an overlay of the winds at the same elevation. Tornadoes typically occur at the convergence of these two different air masses. A distinct boundary of "cold meeting warm" is visible in this temperature data, extending from Texas into Illinois.

Devastating Tornadoes Overnight in Texas

This image of Texas taken by the GOES East satellite at 0045Z on May 16, 2013 shows the vicinity around Granbury, TX approximately 21 minutes before the NOAA NWS Storm Prediction Center received a tornado report, at 0106Z. An unannotated version of this image can be found here.

Lightning Flashes and Gravity Waves in Tropical Cyclone Mahasen

Tropical Cyclone Mahasen is moving north through the Indian Ocean along a track that places landfall along the Bangladesh coast on May 16th around 1200Z. On May 13, 2013 the Suomi NPP satellite caught an interesting glimpse of the storm as it moved off the eastern coast of India. The VIIRS Day-Night Band was able to resolve lightning flashes towards the center of the storm, along with mesopheric gravity waves emanating outwards like ripples in a pond. These gravity waves are of particular interest to air traffic controllers so assist in identifying areas of turbulence. Since the moon was in a new phase, the lights and other surface features of India and Sri Lanka are clearly visible, though the clouds of TC Mahasen are not - a tradeoff that occurs as the amount of moonlight cycles throughout the month.

An unlabeled version of the image can be downloaded here.

Popocatépetl Volcano in Mexico Continues to Show Signs of Activity

After an eruption last week that spewed ash and lava, the Popocatépetl Volcano just southeast of Mexico City is again showing signs of activity. NOAA's Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center is monitoring the status of the volcano for any potential impacts on air traffic using a variety of satellite sensors, including the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) found on the NASA Aura spacecraft. Though OMI is intended primarily for ozone measurements, it can also detect sulfur dioxide - one of the many gases released by volcanoes before and during eruption. This image shows the sulfur dioxide measurements from two consecutive passes over the area on May 12th and 13th.

Wind-Driven Ice Comes Ashore to Damaging Effect

Winds driving ice sheets in the process of breaking up from the winter are causing headaches for lake towns in Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota. Along the Mille Lac Lake shoreline in Minnesota the buildup of ice has caused extensive damage to homes and properties due to 30 to 40 mile per hour winds on Saturday, May 11. The day before, winds pushed ice into the communities southwest of Dauphin Lake in Manitoba, Canada. This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1825Z on May 12, 2013. An unannotated version of this image can be found here.

Two Cyclones Churn South of India

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is tracking two cyclones in the Indian Ocean, Cyclone One north of the equator and Cyclone Jamala south of the equator. Having two storms on either side of the equator allows us to see the Coriolis Effect in action by comparing the storms' opposing angles of rotation. While Cyclone Jamala is forecast to head southwest over water, Cyclone One is forecast to move northwest and gain strength over the next few days before turning northeast and making landfall in Myanmar. This image was taken by the China Meteorological Administration National Satellite Meteorological Center's FY-2E satellite at 0900Z on May 10, 2013.

Snow in the Rockies, Storms in the Mid-Section, Rain in the East

Widespread showers and thunderstorms will continue across the Western U.S. as a low pressure system aloft slowly inches through the Four Corners region. Strong easterly/northeasterly flow against the Colorado Rockies should force some heavier upslope precipitation across the front range, and temperatures should be low enough to support accumulating snows in the higher elevations.

As the closed low in the Western U.S. edges eastward and low level southerly flow draws Gulf moisture northward, showers and thunderstorms will be focused along a frontal boundary gradually pushing eastward through the Midwest and Central to Southern Plains. Some organized and potentially severe storms will be possible.

Atlantic moisture getting wrapped inland ahead of the cold front lifting through the Northeast should still fuel some organized areas of rain and thunderstorms. The system will be weakening with time, reducing the threat for any heavy rains and flash flooding. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on May 8, 2013.

Wet and Soggy Conditions Creeping Up the Eastern Seaboard

Wet and soggy conditions will continue to accompany a cut-off low creeping up the Eastern Seaboard the next few days. A plume of Atlantic moisture getting wrapped inland will fuel moderate to heavy rains along and ahead of the boundary while it lifts northward through the Mid-Atlantic states on Wednesday and into the Northeast Thursday. Behind the occluded front, some periods of sun will be possible during the day Wednesday with drier air working in aloft, leading to more unstable conditions. This could allow for some scattered thunderstorms to develop tomorrow afternoon across portions of the Mid-Atlantic. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1815Z on May 7, 2013.

Bob Kuligowski - On Using Satellite Data to Monitor Flash Floods

Bob Kuligowski, a meteorologist with the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research, discusses how the satellites are used to monitor for potential flash flood conditions. The infrared sensors on weather satellites can detect cloud top temperatures. Usually the coldest, highest cloud tops are associated with areas of heavy rainfall. These measurements are especially critical in open ocean areas or in countries without sophisticated ground-based rain gauge and radar networks for more precise rainfall estimates, along with mountainous areas where radar measurements are obscured by the terrain.

Bob Kuligowski - On Using Satellite Data to Monitor Flash Floods

Satellite Image of California Wildfires

A series of wildfires in Ventura County, California (northwest of Los Angeles) have burned over 6,500 acres as of May 3rd, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The Suomi NPP satellite passed over the blaze on May 2, 2013 around 21:30 Z, capturing this high resolution imagery with its visible and infrared energy sensors. A stream of smoke is clearly visible moving west over the ocean, as are the heat signatures from the active fires areas. The fires are expected to be contained by May 4th, and fire weather conditions in the region seem to be improving, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

An unlabeled version can be downloaded here.

Dust Storm Blows Across Israel

A mixture of sand and dust from the Sinai is seen blowing across Israel and into the Mediterranean Sea in this image captured by the Suomi NPP satellite on May 1, 2013.

Tropical Cyclone Zane is Heading for Queensland, Australia

With 69 mph winds, Tropical Cyclone Zane is seen in this image taken by the Suomi NPP satellite on April 30th, 2013 at 03:15z as it heads towards Queensland, Australia. An image taken at the same time in using the satellite's infrared imagery shows intense convection in the center of the storm, though no eyewall. Over the next day, Zane is expected to strengthen to 98 mph winds before making landfall shortly after 06:00z on May 1st.

Major to Record Flooding in the North Central River Forecast Area

The NOAA National Weather Service River Forecast Office, North Central River Forecast Center is forecasting major, or soon to rise above major, flood levels in Illinois, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, northern Indiana, North Dakota and western Minnesota. The flooding in the south is due primarily to the heavy rains and excessive runoff from last week. The flooding about to begin in the north is due primarily to the forecasted warm spell and significant snowmelt. This imagery from the NASA/NOAA Suomi satellite's VIIRS instrument from October 24, 2012 on the left, compared to April 25, 2013 on the right, shows significant flooding along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers flanking Illinois.

An unlabeled version of this image can be found here.

NOAA Switches to Metop-B for Morning Satellite Coverage

On April 24, 2013, NOAA officially changed the operational morning-orbit satellite from Metop-A to Metop-B. This image of northwestern Australia is taken from the first orbit that Metop-B made as the primary morning-orbit satellite, using NOAA’s AVHRR instrument flown on Metop-B. The term "morning-orbit" indicates that the satellite crosses over any given location on Earth during the morning light hours (along with once at night). The afternoon-orbit passes over each area during the afternoon. NOAA-19 is currently the operational afternoon-orbit satellite. The combination of EUMETSAT’s Metop satellites along with the NOAA POES series provide global coverage of the planet to provide the data that drive numerical weather models, such as the National Weather Service’s Global Forecast System.

Heavy Rains Cause Flooding Concerns

After two weeks of higher than normal precipitation, many areas from Wisconsin through Louisiana are facing flood watches and warnings, especially along the Mississippi Valley. Illinois seems to be the hardest hit, with rain totals exceeding 8 inches in some locations this past week alone. Rainfall data from the Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) run by NOAA/NCEP shows the rainfall totals over the past week (April 16-23).

An unlabeled version can be downloaded here.

March 2013 Global Temperatures 10th Highest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that the March 2013 global average temperature of 55.94°F (13.28°C) was tied for 10th warmest year on record (dating back to 1880). This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Most areas of the world experienced higher-than-average annual temperatures, including most of Africa and much of Asia. Far northeastern Canada, part of western Greenland, and sections of central Asia observed temperatures that were at least 9°F (5°C) above average. Meanwhile, most of Europe, northern Asia, central and western Canada, the central and eastern United States, and southern South America were notably cooler than average. In addition, the average March sea ice extent was 5.81 million square miles, 170,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average of 5.98 million square miles, resulting in the fifth smallest monthly March extent on record.

Satellite Imagery of Intense Convection Over U.S. Plains

NOAA is carefully monitoring an area of convection over Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois for the possibility of tornado activity. Tornado watches are in effect for many counties in these affected states. This image from the Suomi NPP satellite's high resolution infrared sensors taken on April 17, 2013 at 1930z shows the overshooting cloud tops associated with this storm system. The darkest orange colors are actually the coldest cloud tops associated with the most intense storms.

Highly Detailed Satellite Image of the Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream Current - the main conveyor of heat from south to north in the Atlantic - swirls surface waters in this infrared image from the Suomi NPP satellite on April 16, 2013, centered around 180 miles due east of Atlantic City, NJ. Though more accurate measurements of sea surface temperatures usually require multiple infrared or microwave bands, this image, using the high resolution SVI05 infrared band (370 meters per pixel), shows the intricate patterns of ocean surface current dynamics. Dark orange colors indicate warmer waters (~30^oC); lighter colors are cooler (~10^oC); black areas are clouds. The detail of the Gulf Stream is often best seen in the spring and fall when the differences between the warm waters of the offshore currents contrast with the cooler coastal waters and cold water inputs from the higher latitudes. The warmest waters in this image occur along an east-west stretch created as the Gulf Stream bends eastward and moves father offshore towards Europe.

Heavy Snow Possible Over Parts of the Northern and Central High Plains

The record-setting snowstorm for North Dakota is winding down as the low lifts northeastward and moves into eastern Canada. More light to moderate snow is possible in northern North Dakota. The system moving east from the Pacific Ocean could bring heavy snow across portions of northeast Utah, central and northeast Colorado and southeast Wyoming. This image was taken by GOES East at 1945Z on April 15, 2013.

NOAA Retires Polar-Orbiting Satellite NOAA-17

After nearly 11 years of helping the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict weather and climate patterns and save lives in search and rescue operations, NOAA announced today it has turned off the NOAA-17 Polar-Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES). It was one of NOAA's longest operating spacecraft, which have a typical lifespan of three years. The shutdown will result in no data gap, as NOAA-17 was being used as a back-up satellite and was removed from service after several key systems on board became inoperable, including the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, and sensor degradation as seen in the lower right of this image.

This image comes from the last operational morning orbit of NOAA-17 on May 26, 2007. The next day Metop-A, operated by EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, took over operational mid-morning duties. Through the Initial Joint Polar System agreement, NOAA and EUMETSAT established a shared satellite system by exchanging instruments and coordinating the operations of their polar-orbiting satellites to provide operational meteorological and environmental forecasting and global climate monitoring services worldwide.

For an unannotated version see this image.

Dynamic Storm System Evolving Over the Central U.S.

An anomalously cold airmass surging south and east across the Central Plains is setting the stage for heavy snow and mixed precipitation. Deep moisture from the Gulf of Mexico in place ahead of the cold front is being drawn over the colder surface temperatures resulting in a broad area of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Surface waves will consolidate over eastern Kansas this evening to produce thunderstorms, some severe with hail being the main concern, across the Central and Southern Plains. This image was taken by GOES East at 2315Z on April 9, 2013.

Sand Storm Blows Off of the Arabian Peninsula

A sand storm blows off the Arabian Peninsula and across the Gulf of Oman into Pakistan in this true color image captured by the Suomi NPP satellite on April 8, 2013. This image is composed of two separate orbits from the satellite around 08:40 and 10:20 UTC, respectively. An interesting feature includes the wake generated by the island of Masirah off the southeast coast of the peninsula.

Catastrophic Flooding in Argentina

The cities of Buenos Aires and La Plata on the eastern coast of Argentina continue to dry out after floods spawned by the storm seen here caused 51 deaths and led La Plata's mayor Pablo Bruera to state that "100,000 households were devastated by the floods" according to the Buenos Aires Herald newspaper. Buenos Aires' three underground streams are prone to flooding its neighborhoods, especially when receiving record rainfall as in this event. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on April 5, 2013.

Tornado Watch Issued for Portions of Southern Florida

Severe weather continues to impact Florida this afternoon. A Tornado Watch is now in effect for much of the Florida peninsula. Tornadoes, hail to 1.5 inches in diameter, thunderstorm wind gusts up to 70 mph and dangerous lightning are possible. Wind profiles over central and southern Florida are sufficient for sustained storms and supercells. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1830Z on April 4, 2013.

Heavy Rain for the Gulf Coast and Southeast

Heavy rains and thunderstorms currently developing across eastern Texas and Louisiana are forecast to shift eastward along the central Gulf Coast through today, reaching the eastern Gulf to southeast Gulf by early Thursday as the disturbance moving out of Texas interacts with tropical moisture build ing along a stalled frontal boundary. This image was taken by GOES East at 1415Z on April 3, 2013.

Lake Huron Flow Opens Ice in the North Channel

Water flows through the Mississagi Strait from the main body of Lake Huron into the North Channel. This flow impedes the formation of ice over the Drummond Basin, the area of greatest depth in the North Channel. This ice-free area persists from year to year keeping an open waterway between Cockburn Island and Manitoulin Island. This image from the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument was taken March 29, 2013.

Sea Surface Temperature in the Gulf of Mexico

The VIIRS instrument's moderate resolution infrared channel 16 aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite is used for measuring sea surface temperatures. In areas with no clouds, water at different temperatures show brighter when warmer and darker when cooler. In this image the Loop Current in the center of the Gulf of Mexico is large and warm, while winter-chilled water draining the Mississippi River watershed envelop the bayous and bays of Louisiana. This image was taken around 0725Z on March 29, 2013. For an unannotated version, please see this image.

High Pressure Over Greenland Driving Arctic Air South

This image shows the sea level pressure anomaly calculated from NCEP climate reanalysis data from February 25 through March 25, 2013. The area of anomalous high pressure over Greenland illustrates the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, by which persistent high pressure blocks Arctic air from moving eastward, causing it to drop down into the middle latitudes and is a contributing factor in keeping temperatures unseasonably cool in Canada and the US.

The Arctic Melt Has Begun

After reaching its maximum extent for the year on March 15, 2013, the average extent of sea ice in the Arctic has begun shrinking and will probably reach its minimum extent sometime in mid-September. This year’s maximum extent was the sixth lowest in the satellite record, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. At 15.13 million square kilometers, the maximum extent was 733,000 square kilometers below the 1979 to 2000 average of 15.86 million square kilometers, and occurred five days later than the 1979 to 2000 average date of March 10. The lowest maximum extent occurred in 2011. The ten lowest maximums in the satellite record have occurred in the last ten years, 2004 to 2013. This image shows the satellite-based measurement of the sea ice extent on March 15, 2013. The orange line indicates the median extent for the period 1979-2000.

Snow Covers 44 of the 50 States

With the exception of Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi and Rhode Island, there is at least some snow on the ground in the remaining 44 states. Data from the NOAA Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) shows the satellite-based snow cover for the United States on March 26, 2013 after an unusually late spring storm moved across much of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. White areas indicate snow cover, light blue is the current sea ice cover.

Surface Low Brings Late-Season Snow to the East Coast

An area of moderate to heavy snow in the northern mid-Atlantic from the eastern shore of Maryland northward along the I-95 corridor to the New York City area has made for snowy, slushy commutes today, with some areas seeing significant snowfalls. Moderate to heavy snow will continue into the early afternoon for the DelMarVa Peninsula and points north with additional accumulations of 1 to 3 inches and more in the higher elevations. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1820Z on March 25, 2013.

Arctic Ice Breaks Up In Beaufort Sea

A series of intense storms in the Arctic has caused fracturing of the sea ice around the Beaufort Sea along the northern coasts of Alaska and Canada. High-resolution imagery from the Suomi NPP satellite shows the evolution of the cracks forming in the ice, called leads, from February 17 – March 18 2013. The general circulation of the area is seen moving the ice westward along the Alaskan coast.

Arctic Ice Breaks Up In Beaufort Sea

GOES Satellite Captures Spring Equinox

It is that time of year again (it happens twice) when the relative angle of Earth is perpendicular to the Sun, causing equal incoming solar energy to the Northern and Southern hemispheres - as well as equal day and nighttime. At 7:02 ET on March 20, 2013, Earth was at its equinox. At 7:45 ET, the GOES-13 satellite captured this full disk image of Earth. The visible imagery sensor on GOES requires sunlight to “see” clouds, and so it provides a useful example of the equinox. In this image the GOES imagery extends to each of the poles since the entire hemisphere is equally lit. After the equinox passes today, the Northern Hemisphere will be more lit than the Southern Hemisphere – causing the seasons. (Note: the Sun in this image is artificially created, though the GOES spacecraft does have sensors continually monitoring the Sun for solar activity.)

Blizzard Conditions Expected in Midwest, Severe Weather Possible in Southeast

A powerful winter storm will bring 2-5 inches of snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the Upper Midwest on Monday. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are possible across parts of Kentucky and Tennessee into the Southeast. The main threats will be damaging wind and hail, although a tornado or two may be possible, as well. Cold air east of the Appalachians will help to establish a favorable environment for a wintry mix of precipitation for interior parts of the Mid-Atlantic and into New England through Monday. More snow is in the forecast for most of upstate New York and into interior parts of New England as a surface low develops near the coast on Tuesday. The snow may be heavy at times. This image was taken by GOES East at 1815Z on March 18, 2013.

February 2013 was 9th Warmest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that the February 2013 global average temperature of 54.93°F (12.67°C) was the 9th warmest year on record (dating back to 1880). This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Most areas of the world experienced higher-than-average annual temperatures, including eastern Europe, western Russia, the Middle East, much of Canada, and southern Greenland. Meanwhile, northern and western Alaska, far northwestern Canada, a large swath of the contiguous United States, western Europe, northwestern Africa, Siberia, Mongolia, and most of the eastern Pacific Ocean were notably cooler than average. In addition, the Antarctic sea ice extent reached its annual minimum extent on February 20th at 1.42 million square miles, marking the second largest annual minimum extent on record.

Phytoplankton Blooms Causing Manatee Deaths

NOAA's Protected Resources Division is busily coordinating with state scientists after a rash of manatee deaths have occurred on the southwest coast of Florida caused by blooms of the harmful algal species Karenia Brevis, also called "red tides." An estimated 174 manatees have died so far this year - the most on record. Satellites play an important role in monitoring harmful algal blooms, as the sensors such as VIIRS on the Suomi NPP satellite, can detect small changes in the color of water, consistent with increases in phytoplankton concentration. This image uses data from the Suomi NPP's predecessor satellite (NASA Aqua) to identify areas with higher than normal chlorophyll concentration - the green pigment in phytoplankton and plants. A large bloom (bright green) can be seen off the coast of Florida near Ft Myers, consistent with the location of many manatee deaths due to the toxins released by Karenia Brevis.

20th Anniversary of the "Storm of the Century" March 1993

What started out as an area of low pressure off the coast of Texas on March 12, 1993 quickly developed into what many people refer to as “The Storm of the Century.” The evolution of this winter superstorm can be seen in this imagery from the GOES-7 satellite, using both visible and colorized infrared data. As the storm developed in the Deep South, it spawned 15 tornadoes in Florida and dumped from 8 to 33 inches of snow from Alabama to the Carolinas. As the storm moved north and intensified, conditions became even worse. With a central pressure of 961 millibars, usually found only in Category 3 hurricanes, whiteout conditions were common. Snowfall exceeded 2.5 feet in some locations.

When the storm passed, at least 270 people were dead and $5.5 billion dollars in damage were sustained. The National Climatic Data Center still ranks the 1993 as the most impactful winter storm to hit the Northeast. Though the 1978 and 1996 blizzards may have brought more intense localized conditions, the scale of the 1993 storm has not been equaled in recent history.

Note: Edits were made to the image description on 3/13/2013 based in more recently updated statistics from NCDC.

20th Anniversary of the "Storm of the Century" March 1993

What started out as an area of low pressure off the coast of Texas on March 12, 1993 quickly developed into what many people refer to as The Storm of the Century. The evolution of this winter superstorm can be seen in this imagery from the GOES-7 satellite, using both visible and colorized infrared data. As the storm developed in the Deep South, it spawned 11 tornadoes in Florida and dumped from 8 to 33 inches of snow from Alabama to the Carolinas. As the storm moved north and intensified, conditions became even worse. With a central pressure of 960 millibars, usually found only in Category 2 hurricanes, whiteout conditions were common. Snowfall exceeded 3.5 feet in some locations.

When the storm passed, 208 people were dead and $6.6 billion dollars in damage were sustained. The National Climatic Data Center still ranks the 1993 as the most impactful winter storm to hit the Northeast. Though the 1978 and 1996 blizzards may have brought more intense localized conditions, the scale of the 1993 storm has not been equaled in recent history.

Counting the Tsunamis Since Honshu

Two years ago on March 11, 2011, a massive earthquake struck off the coast of the Japanese island of Honshu subsequently causing a massive tsunami event that rippled around the world. The human toll was catastrophic: 15,854 deaths; 3,203 people missing; 5,950 people injured. Since that time 28 tsunamis have occurred around the world, as plotted on this map. The NOAA National Geographic Data Center archives the location and cause of each tsunami origin, and has an interactive map for plotting tsunami events, along with other related phenomena.

Great Lakes Region Snow Extents

As the storm that hit the midwest and mid Atlantic hard over the last few days continues to pound the New England coastline, a clear day over the Great Lakes region shows the extent of snowfall. The snow impacting New England will finally diminish this evening as the storm moves eastward away from the coast. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1840Z on March 8, 2013.

Mt. Etna Eruption Seen from Space

Mt. Etna has been putting on a tremendous show for residents of Sicily the past two days. Starting on March 6, 2013, the volcano began erupting lava - a display so bright that the day-night band on the Suomi NPP satellite could detect it from space. This image shows the pass from 00:50 GMT on March 3, 2013. A bright white pixel can be seen surrounded by the darkness of the mountainside and the city lights of Catania to the southeast.

An unlabeled version may be downloaded here.

Strong Winter Storm Will Impact Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

A late-winter storm impacts the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, March 6 before delivering more snow to parts of the Northeast. Heavy wet snow, more than a foot deep in spots, in parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia resulted in downed trees and power outages, while a sloppy mix of rain and snow fell along the I-95 corridor, including Washington, D.C. This image was taken by GOES East at 1715Z on March 6, 2013.

Winter Storm Continues to Affect Midwest before Moving to Mid-Atlantic

A strong winter storm will continue to bring moderate to heavy snow, as much as 4-9 inches, to parts of the Midwest & southern Great Lakes during the day on Tuesday before moving into the Ohio Valley by Tuesday evening. The system will move into the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, where it is forecast to produce 6-10 inches of snow, with as much as 10-20 inches possible in the higher elevations of West Virginia and western Virginia. Through Wednesday evening northern Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Maryland along the I-95 corridor will see 5 or more inches of wet, heavy snow with winds 15 to 25 mph, gusting to 35 mph. Power outages and difficult driving conditions are expected. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1755Z on March 5, 2013.

Winter Storm Affecting Midwest and Ohio Valley

A strong winter storm will bring heavy snow to parts of the Upper Midwest into the Ohio Valley on Monday into Tuesday. As much as 4-8 inches of snow is possible. This storm is forecast to spread into the mid-Atlantic coastal states over the next few days, although the spread in the models as of today means that there is still uncertainty where the greatest impacts will be. This image was taken by GOES East at 1945Z on March 4, 2013.

Cyclone Rusty Lashes Northwest Australia Coast

This image shows the eye of Cyclone Rusty coming ashore near Pardoo as a category 3 cyclone with sustained winds of 92 mph according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Pardoo received in excess of 19 inches of rain since Sunday, February 24, while the system was stalled offshore. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 0600Z on February 27, 2013.

Winter Storm Covers Eastern U.S.

The scale of the winter system that passed over the U.S. is evident in this image from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite taken on February 26, 2013. Forming over the Plains and then moving northeast into New England, the system has brought heavy snows and rain to much of the Eastern U.S.

Texas Panhandle Buried in Snow

A winter storm moved over the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma on February 25-26, dumping one and a half feet of snow in some areas. Amarillo received the highest amounts, with official totals from the National Weather Service at 19 inches. On February 26, 2013 the Suomi NPP satellite flew over the area, capturing this high resolution visible image of the snow cover. Of course, the lack of color contrast between cloud and snow make differentiating the two difficult. However, if the thermal imagery from the Suomi NPP's VIIRS sensor is used in place of some of the visible imagery, the distinction becomes clearer. In this second image, red areas are snow whereas the lighter pink and white areas are cloud.

Athens, Greece Flooded by Torrential Rains

Flooding today in Greece's capitol Athens was the worst seen in 50 years according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service. This image shows the storm moving east after early morning downpours left commuters stranded, basements flooded and rivers running through Athens' streets. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1115Z on February 22, 2013.

January 2013 was 9th Warmest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that January 2013 was the 9th warmest on record, dating back to 1880. This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network, shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Most areas of the world experienced higher-than-average monthly temperatures, including Alaska, the Eastern U.S., southern Greenland and Australia. Meanwhile, far northwestern and central Canada, the western United States, and a large swath of northern Eurasia were most notably below average.

Significant Winter Storm Unfolding Across Plains

Winter Storm Watches & Warnings are in effect for a large portion of the central U.S., as a powerful storm system is expected to bring more than a foot of snow along with strong winds to parts of the central Plains Wednesday into Thursday. Farther south, freezing rain is likely over parts of Oklahoma, Missouri & Arkansas, with severe thunderstorms & heavy rainfall possible over parts of the South. This image was taken by GOES East at 1545Z on February 20, 2013.

Meteorite Slams into Atmosphere Above Chelyabinsk, Russia

This animated GIF image shows the meteor that entered the atmosphere above Chelyabinsk, Russia this morning, February 15, 2013 around 9:20 am local time, 0320Z. The GIF consists of 8 separate images starting at 0300Z and proceeding in 15 minute increments until 0445Z, at which time the vapor trail blends into the reflected light of the morning sun. The images show the horizon taken at the farthest extent of the EUMETSAT METEOSAT-10 satellite's high resolution visible channel, near latitude 55 north, longitude 61 west.

Ice Extent in the Sea of Okhotsk

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) supports research into our world's frozen realms: the snow, ice, glaciers, frozen ground, and climate interactions that make up Earth's cryosphere. The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument data are used to expand upon existing applications to sea ice mapping by NSIDC and others in preparation for the operational JPSS constellation coming online in the next few years. This image shows the Sea of Okhotsk north of Hokkaido, Japan and west of the Kamchatka Peninsula with a relatively clear sky and ice floating on the sea. The image was taken around 0230Z on February 12, 2013.

Historic Snowstorm Blankets New England

Last weekend's snowstorm in New England brought historic snowfall to many communities in New England with snow totals in excess of 2 feet. Blizzard warnings along the coast were put in place ahead of high winds that reached 83 miles per hour in Cuttyhunk, MA, 82 in Westport, CT, and 81 in Mount Washington, ME. This image shows the snow on the ground as taken by the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1825Z on Sunday February 10, 2013 after the storm headed out into the Atlantic. For comparison an image showing the land on January 27, 2013, can be found here.

Heavy Precipitation Possible Over Parts of Southern New England

A developing storm over the eastern Gulf Coast will deepen significantly as the system moves northeastward to the Carolina Coast by Friday morning. The storm will develop light to moderate rain over the interior central/eastern Gulf Coast on Thursday that will move into the Southeast Coast by Thursday evening. The rain will become moderate to heavy along the Virginia/North Carolina Coast by Friday morning. Another storm over the Central Plains/Middle Mississippi Valley will be blocked from moving to the East Coast and surrender its upper-level energy to the developing storm over the Gulf Coast/Southeast by Friday. Light to moderate rain will develop along the boundary over the Middle Mississippi Valley and move to the Ohio Valley/Tennessee Valley while intensifying to moderate to heavy rain by Friday morning. This image was taken by GOES East at 1515Z on February 7, 2013.

Tsunami Warnings Cancelled After Powerful Earthquake

A powerful earthquake in the Solomon Islands of the western Pacific Ocean near Temotu Province (Santa Cruz Islands) struck this morning at 0112Z near the northeast confluence of the South Solomon Trench and the North New Hebrides Trench. A small tsunami was generated, according to sea level readings in the surrounding islands, but watches and warnings were cancelled for areas outside the immediate region.

The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite passed over the area approximately an hour and fifteen minutes later and the VIIRS instrument recorded the image here, taken around 0230Z on February 6, 2013.

Light Snow Forecast across Midwest and Ohio Valley

A fast-moving storm system will produce light snow over parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley on Monday. Heavy snow is possible over parts of West Virginia. The system will move to the Mid-Atlantic by Tuesday. Meanwhile, temperatures will be 10-15 degrees below normal across the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes on Monday. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1840Z on February 4, 2013.

Lake Effect Snow for New York, Pennsylvania

Cold temperatures persisting in regions bordering Lakes Erie and Ontario combined with northwest flowing winds following a departing surface trough are bringing lake effect snow to northern Pennsylvania and western New York. Snowfall rates of up to a half inch per hour are forecast to be common within the cores of the snow bands. Buffalo, NY could see snow totals exceeding 1 foot through the next 48 hours with more snow in the extended forecast. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1750Z on February 1, 2013.

Tornado Tracks Across Adairsville, Georgia

NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Prediction center received reports describing a tornado's impact on Adairsville, GA. Multiple cars have been overturned on Interstate 75, one person has been reported killed, multiple structures damaged and numerous trees and powerlines are reported down. People around the region are urged to review the SPC Tornado Safety FAQ and your family's tornado plan.

This imagery is generated from the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory experimental analysis of NEXRAD RADAR on January 30, 2013 around noon Eastern Time, and identifies areas with high rotational velocity that are consistent with tornadic activity. In some cases, high rotational velocity may show up in the radar signature, though a tornado may not touch down. In this case, a strong rotational velocity signature is see moving across Alabama and into northwestern Georgia and crossing Interstate 75 near Adairsville, which is consistent with reports by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

Satellite Captures Image of Lightning Strike

As severe weather rolled over the central U.S. during the late night hours of January 29-30, 2013, the Suomi NPP satellite flew over capturing this Day-Night-Band imagery of the storm activity. Because of the near-full moon that night, the Day-Night-Band was able to provide cloud detail normally available only during daylight hours on other satellites. Also visible, where not obstructed by clouds, are the city lights of the region, along with two incredibly bright spots in western Tennessee's sparsely populated Carroll and Henry Counties. These spots are not city lights but lightning flashes that illuminate the clouds. The ability of the VIIRS instrument's Day-Night-Band to detect lightning flashes will be ever more refined by the GOES-R lightning mapper instrument, scheduled to launch in 2015, which will provide lightning flash data every 5 minutes around the clock.

An unlabeled version can be downloaded here.

Significant Threat for Severe Storms Forecast January 29, 2013

The NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, is forecasting the development of damaging winds and a few tornadoes, some strong, over parts of the Ozark region and the lower Mississippi Valley this evening through tonight. Thunderstorms will continue to develop and spread east and northeast this morning into the afternoon across Oklahoma, parts of north Texas and eastern Kansas. Damaging winds and tornadoes will be possible with this activity into the afternoon.

A more significant severe weather threat is expected to develop this evening through tonight across much of Arkansas, far northeast Texas, northern Louisiana, southeast Missouri into west central and northwest Mississippi and parts of far western Tennessee where damaging winds and tornadoes are expected to be more widespread.

The severe weather threat will spread farther east later tonight into parts of the central Gulf Coast states, Tennessee Valley and potentially the lower Ohio Valley, with a continued threat for damaging winds and a few tornadoes.

State and local emergency managers are monitoring this developing situation. Those in the threatened area are urged to review severe weather safety rules and to listen to radio, television and NOAA Weather Radio for possible watches, warnings and statements later today. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1850Z on January 29, 2013.

Snow Melts, Rain Falls, Floods Ensue in the United Kingdom

Following a cold snap and heavy snowfall across the United Kingdom last week, milder air is bringing heavy rain, which along with melting snow is leading the UK Environment Agency to issue hundreds of flood alerts and warnings across the Islands. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1225Z on January 28, 2013.

Winter Weather Will Impact Tennessee Valley and Mid-Atlantic

A mix of winter weather hazards will impact parts of the Tennessee Valley and Mid-Atlantic on Friday. Freezing rain is possible across parts of the Tennessee Valley eastward to coastal North Carolina. Meanwhile, snow initially affecting the Great Lakes region is forecast to gradually move eastward throughout the day, affecting the Mid-Atlantic by Friday afternoon, before tapering off by Saturday. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1825Z on January 25, 2013.

A Shroud of Cold Air Descends on the U.S.

A drop in the jet stream sent temperatures across the United States plummeting over the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday weekend. The pronounced change in temperatures can be seen in this weather data from NOAA/NCEP’s Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis. Areas colored blue are below freezing. The diurnal cycle of heating and cooling can be seen over time, but the pattern is clear: much of the U.S. is pretty cold.

A Shroud of Cold Air Descends on the U.S.

Sediment Discharge from the Mississippi River

The USGS National Water Information System has recorded a large increase in turbidity at the monitoring station located in Buras, LA since early December. Turbidity measures suspended solids in water, a key test of water quality. The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument shows sediments as light brown discharges around the Mississippi Delta, most likely a consequence of the historic drought conditions experienced all along the River's watershed. This image was taken around 1900Z on January 23, 2013.

Meteosat-10 takes over from Meteosat-9

This is the first operational image taken by Meteosat-10 which has replaced Meteosat-9 as EUMETSAT’s prime operational geostationary weather satellite after being moved to 0º. Launched on 5 July, Meteosat-10 is the latest satellite in the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) series, which provides operational weather and climate monitoring services over Europe and Africa. In April 2013, Meteosat-9 will take over the Rapid Scanning Service (RSS) from Meteosat-8, the first MSG satellite launched in 2002. Meteosat-9 and -10 will then form the operational two-satellite configuration, with Meteosat-10 providing full disc imagery of the European and African continents and adjacent seas every 15 minutes and Meteosat-9 delivering more frequent images every five minutes (RSS) over Europe and North Africa. This image was taken by METEOSAT-10 at 0945Z on January 21, 2013.

Snow on the Ground in the Blue Ridge Mountains

The storm of January 17, 2013 left snow on a broad swath of ground in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia. Areas around Johnson City, TN saw as much as 6.5 inches on the ground this morning. Meanwhile, a series of systems moving across the northern tier states will bring snow, heavy at times, across the Great Lakes Friday into Saturday. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1900Z on January 18, 2013.

Unsettled Weather Continues Across Eastern U.S.

A stalled frontal boundary will continue to bring unsettled weather across much of the eastern U.S. on Wednesday. Hazards associated with this system include rain across much of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, flash flooding along parts of the Tennessee Valley northeastward into the central Appalachians and heavy snow across New England. Snow will move into parts of the Deep South on Thursday. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on January 16, 2013.

2012 was the 10th Warmest Year on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that the 2012 global average temperature of 58.03°F (14.47°C) was the 10th warmest year on record (dating back to 1880). This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Most areas of the world experienced higher-than-average annual temperatures, including most of North and South America, most of Europe and Africa, and western, southern, and far northeastern Asia. Meanwhile, most of Alaska, far western Canada, central Asia, parts of the eastern and equatorial Pacific, southern Atlantic, and parts of the Southern Ocean were notably cooler than average. Lingering La Niña conditions during the early part of the year ameliorated some warmer temperature extremes in the eastern and central Pacific. However, 2012 was still the warmest La Niña year on record. For additional visualizations and information on the climate patterns in 2012, please visit Climate.gov.

Extreme Air Pollution Over China

Smog is a common part of life across much of eastern China; however the past week has seen extremely high air pollution counts, some exceeding 750 micrograms per cubic meter of particles that are 2.5 microns or less in diameter. In the U.S., the EPA classifies any PM2.5 concentration above 100 as “unsafe,” as these tiny particles are able to penetrate deep into airways causing many health risks. This image of eastern China was taken on January 13, 2013 by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. Clouds can be seen as bright white areas, whereas the smog and other pollutants appear as a dull gray blanket over the region.

An unlabeled version can be downloaded here.

Cyclone Narelle Strengthens in the Eastern Indian Ocean

Cyclone Narelle is spinning out to sea west of Western Australia with sustained winds of 115 knots with gusts to 140 knots. Narelle is moving slightly southwestward and will maintain that bearing for the next few days before heading due south and rounding the continent's southwest in 5 days or so. The storm's bands to the southeast are drawing desert sand off land out into the Indian Ocean as shown by some dramatic photos from ships sailing in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 0540Z on January 11, 2013.

Hazardous Weather Conditions Expected on Thursday from the Northern Rockies to the Desert Southwest

A strong storm over the southern plains will move northeastward to the Great Lakes and slowly weaken by Friday night. A plume of moisture will extend northward from the Gulf of Mexico to the Middle Mississippi Valley/Ohio valley before being shunted to the east by Friday. Severe thunderstorms are possible along the central gulf Coast, along with heavy rain. A deep upper-level trough will move inland over the west coast to the Rockies by Friday. The associated front will move from the northern high plains/southern California to the upper Midwest/southern high plains by Friday evening. Heavy snow expected over parts of the upper Midwest. This image was taken by GOES East at 1845Z with GOES West 1900Z data filling in the Pacific Ocean region southwest of the West Coast, January 10, 2013.

Flash Flooding and Severe Storms Possible on the Gulf Coast

Showers and thunderstorms will develop over the western/central Gulf Coast with rain being moderate to heavy at times through Wednesday. Moderate to heavy rain will also develop over parts of the interior central Gulf Coast and Oklahoma on Wednesday. This image was taken by GOES East at 2045Z on January 8, 2013.

Tasmania Fire Service Declares Total Fire Ban

The Tasmania Fire Service has declared a Day of Total Fire Ban for the whole state of Tasmania, an island south of the Australian continent. This series of images show the island on successive days taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument January 5, 6 and 7, 2013. In the northwest corner of Tasmania the Montumana Fire can be seen to change direction as the winds have changed to a southwest tack over the course of the last three days.

American Meteorological Society's 93rd Annual Meeting Starts This Weekend in Austin, Texas

The 2013 AMS Annual Meeting theme this year is, "Taking Predictions to the Next Level: Expanding Beyond Today's Weather, Water, and Climate Forecasting and Projections”. NOAA scientists and their colleagues in academia and industry will be well-represented in the Town Hall Meetings and as Oral and Poster Presenters throughout the week of January 6 - 10, 2013 in Austin, TX. Although Texas is covered in clouds today, next week should have perfect weather for the conference; not too cold or hot, not too sunny or rainy. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 2000Z on January 4, 2013.

Cyclone Dumile Skirts Madagascar, Lashes Reunion Island

Tropical Cyclone Dumile is tracking southward between Madagascar and the islands of Reunion and Mauritius. The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System is reporting infrastructure impacts to Reunion, with many losing power. This NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument image was taken around 0955Z on January 3, 2013.

Elongated Low Pressure System Driven by Jet Stream

The Jet Stream is influencing low pressure areas to stretch from the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico to the Azores in the North Atlantic Ocean. High pressure in the mid-west is keeping the upper level winds moving briskly east. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on January 2, 2013.

Snow Blankets the U.S. from Texas to Maine

The winter weather that moved across the U.S. over the last week of December 2012 has left snow amounts of up to 20” in parts of the Eastern U.S. Using data from The National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center (NOHRSC), snow depth totals are plotted for the U.S. as of December 27, 2012. The NOHRSC uses high-resolution satellite, radar, in-situ, and reconnaissance data to provide highly detailed snow analyses for the U.S. Snow totals in Canada are not shown. More winter weather is expected over the next few days for these same areas, with heavy snowfalls possible from Illinois to Virginia.

Storm Causes Disruptions Across Eastern U.S.

After picking up a tremendous amount of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, the Christmas 2012 storm has moved across the eastern U.S. dumping rain and snow, causing major air traffic disruptions, and traffic jams across the interstates. This image from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite shows the system on December 27, 2012 at 1845z. The center of low pressure can be seen over New England, along with gravity waves in the cloud formations over Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

Powerful Winter Storm Moves into the Eastern U.S. Today

The strong storm system that brought a plethora of weather hazards to the central and southern U.S. on Christmas will shift to the eastern U.S. today. Heavy snow and blizzard conditions will impact the Ohio Valley into the Interior Northeast creating treacherous driving conditions for holiday travelers. Also, severe thunderstorms are forecast to develop today from southeast Virginia to Florida. This image was taken by GOES East at 1915Z on December 26, 2012.

Heavy Snowfall from Strong Winter Storm

The midwest and Great Plains states are digging out from heavy snow that has fallen over the past few days. This image from the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument taken around 1920Z on December 21, 2012 shows snow on the ground as clear skies trail in the wake of the winter storm now moving east into the Great Lakes and Central Appalachians regions.

Major Winter Storm Tracking Through the Central United States

Blizzard warnings, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories have been issued across the Central Plains and into the Midwest as an impressive cyclone quickly pushes through. Thus far, highest totals of snow have been reported in Iowa with over eight inches of snow. Expect the snow to begin in the Upper Peninsula of the Great Lakes by Friday evening. Meanwhile, unstable conditions will move toward the Southeast. This instability combined with plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will bring showers and thunderstorms by Friday evening and into Saturday morning. This image was taken by GOES East at 1715Z on December 20, 2012.

First Major Winter Storm of Season to affect Central Plains and Upper Midwest

Heavy snow will begin falling in the central Plains by Wednesday evening and move into the Upper Midwest overnight and during the day on Thursday. The heaviest amounts will be across Iowa and into southern Wisconsin, where up to a foot of snow is possible. Strong, gusty winds accompanying the storm will bring blizzard conditions, making travel in the area hazardous. This image was taken by GOES East at 1945Z on December 19, 2012.

Clear Day on the Gulf Coast

A relatively clear day on the Gulf Coast of the United States shows the extent of sediment drift in Louisiana and algal blooms in Florida. The NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Operational Forecast System (HAB-OFS) relies on satellite imagery, field observations, models, public health reports and buoy data to provide the large spatial scale and high frequency of observations required to assess and predict bloom conditions, location and movements. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1835Z on December 18, 2012.

NOAA: November 2012 was 5th Warmest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that November 2012 was the 5th warmest on record, dating back to 1880. This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. Most areas of the world experienced higher-than-average monthly temperatures, including far eastern Russia, Australia, the central and western United States, northern Africa, and most of Europe and western Asia. Meanwhile, central Asia, Alaska, much of western and central Canada, and the eastern United States were most notably cooler than average.

Cyclone Evan Moves Away From Samoa, Heads for Fiji

Samoa and American Samoa are still being affected by Cyclone Evan as the storm moves slowly north-northwest. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centerexpects the storm to begin moving west-southwestward over the next couple of days near Fiji. Maximum sustained surface winds were estimated at 100 knots gusting to 125 knots. This image combines the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's moderate resolution 5, 4 and 3 channels as a true color image underneath colorized high resolution channel 5 infrared imagery around 0100Z on December 14, 2012.

Cyclone Evan Pounds Samoa, American Samoa

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast shows that Cyclone Evan is completing its almost 180 degree turn directly over the islands of Samoa and will begin backtracking along its previous path, diverging in a few days to head directly for Fiji. Evan will strengthen as it slowly makes its way over Samoa, bringing threats of flash flooding, storm surge and high winds to the islands. This image was taken by the NOAA/NASA NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 1220Z on December 13, 2012.

Polar-Orbiting Satellites are Key to Accurate Hurricane Forecasts

The incredibly accurate 5-day forecasts for Hurricanes Irene and Sandy have illustrated the improvements in both observations and numerical weather models. But what would happen to these forecasts if some observations were lost? The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) recently ran an experiment that removed all of the polar-orbiting satellite data from their numerical weather models and re-ran their forecasts for Hurricane Sandy. The result: without the data from polar-orbiting satellites, Sandy’s forecast track would not have made the turn in-land, and instead would have remained out to sea.

This image uses the model output from the ECMWF experiment, showing where Sandy was predicted to be located 4 days out with the normal satellite data inputs into the model (left) and without any polar-orbiting satellite data (right). Both position and intensity forecasts were affected – Sandy stays out to sea without the polar-orbiting satellite data, and the closer isobar lines encircling the storm also imply a more organized and stronger system.

More information on the results of the ECMWF’s data denial study can be found at NOAA.gov.

A Report Card for the Arctic

Surface temperatures in the Arctic were much warmer than average for the first decade of the 21st century, as shown in this image. The image uses data from the NCEP Reanalysis (provided by NOAA/ESRL) from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010 and compares the average daily surface temperature values to the 1971-2000 long-term mean. This analysis is just one part of the recently released 2012 Arctic Report Card. Highlights of the Report Card along with other visualizations can be found on Climate.gov.

Super Typhoon Bopha Bearing Down on the Philippines

Bopha is tracking west-northwestward at 16 knots, on course to cross the island of Mindanao late tonight. With winds sustained near 135 knots and gusts near 165 knots, and with significant wave heights of 52 feet, Super Typhoon Bopha is expected to cause significant damage to coastal areas of the island. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument around 0435Z on December 3, 2012.

A River of Atmospheric Moisture Moves Across the Pacific

Plumes of moisture stream across the entire Pacific basin and head toward the U.S. coastline. Over the first week of December 2012, over a foot of rain is expected to fall in parts of Northern California and up into British Columbia.

This animation shows the total precipitable water in the atmosphere for November 28 - December 6, 2012 using the NOAA Global Forecast System model - one of the main weather models used by forecasters across the world. Dark blues are areas of high moisture content in the atmosphere. The large "tongues" of moisture can be seen extending thousands of miles across the ocean.

A River of Atmospheric Moisture Moves Across the Pacific

The 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season in 4.5 Minutes

After 19 named storms (10 hurricanes), the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season has come to a close. This season was a relatively active one – with 7 more storms than the historical average. Though the official season lasts from June 1 – November 30th, 2012 started off early with Alberto and Beryl appearing in May. Later on, Isaac pummeled the Gulf Coast, and in October, Sandy caused destruction throughout the Northeast.

This animation shows all of the GOES East satellite imagery from June 1 – November 28th. In September, NOAA was able to quickly transition GOES East from the GOES-13 to the backup GOES-14 satellite when problems arose with the GOES-13 imager. GOES-13 returned to service in mid-October. Slight shifts in the imagery in this animation can be seen in late September out in the eastern Atlantic, however it is also clear that no service was lost during this transition. During the 2012 Season, NOAA also began ingesting data from the newly launched Suomi-NPP satellite into the operational forecast models, providing more accurate measurements of atmospheric properties to better predict storm intensification and movement.

UPDATE: The high resolution movie version linked below has been updated to include the first two storms, Alberto and Beryl, which occurred in May.

The 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season in 4.5 Minutes

Heavy Rain Possible Over Portions of the West Coast

This broad, deep low circulation system over the Gulf of Alaska will send bands of moderate to heavy rain flowing into the west coast of the United States through Friday, causing snow in the higher elevations and reaching far into the northern Rockies and northern Intermountain Region Thursday into Friday. This image was taken by GOES West at 2000Z on November 28, 2012.

Wet Weather for the Western U.S.

A series of storms have lined up in the Pacific, all heading towards the Western U.S. coast. Heavy winds and rains are expected over the next week as these systems move inland. Up to a foot of precipitation is expected in Northern California. The three systems are shown here by combining water vapor imagery from the GOES-West and MTSAT satellites. Areas of high moisture content are colored white and green, areas of dry area are clear (showing the underlying map).

Storms Bring Severe Flooding to the UK

The United Kingdom is experiencing heavy rainfall and flooding across parts of northeast England and north Wales today. Heavy rainfall during the weekend resulted in significant river and surface flooding across the southwest of England, Wales and the Midlands, with widespread disruption to roads and property flooding in these areas. This image is from the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument taken during the 1230Z pass October 25, 2012.

NOAA: October 2012 was 5th Warmest on Record

Recently released analysis by NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center reveals that October 2012 was the 5th warmest on record, dating back to 1880. This image, using data from NCDC’s Global Historical Climatology Network shows areas of warmer (red) and cooler (blue) than normal temperatures. While extreme warmth dominated the high latitudes, higher-than-average monthly temperatures were observed across much of Europe, western and far eastern Asia, northeastern and southwestern North America, central South America, northern Africa, and most of Australia. Meanwhile, much of northwestern and central North America, central Asia, parts of western and northern Europe, and southern Africa were notably below average.

Snow On The Ground in the Great Basin

Last weekend's winter storm in the western U.S. brought plenty of snow to Great Basin states. The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of the swath of snow on the ground during the 1950Z passes November 12, 2012.

Winter Storm in Western U.S. and Canada

A winter storm will bring snow across the central and northern Rockies, Great Basin and higher elevations of the West Coast on Friday, with sleet and freezing rain possible for parts of the northern Plains. Rain will also be possible across parts of the Southwest. Snow from the coastal storm of the last three days can be seen on the ground in northern New Jersey and southeastern New York. Meanwhile, temperatures will be 10-20 degrees above normal across parts of the central and southern Plains, and a warming trend will push into the eastern U.S. for the weekend. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on November 9, 2012.

Strengthening Coastal Storm Will Impact Northeast Wednesday into Thursday

A low pressure system off the Mid-Atlantic coast will continue to strengthen as it moves north on Wednesday, bringing rain, snow, and/or a mixture of precipitation to areas across the northern Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, as well as wind gusts as high as 60 mph along the coast. Snowfall across interior sections of New England could approach 6-12 inches. Coastal flooding is also possible. This image was taken by GOES East at 1415Z on November 7, 2012. For higher resolution please see this NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS image.

NOAA National Weather Service Accurately Predicted Sandy's Path

Five days before Sandy made landfall along the New Jersey coastline, NOAA's National Hurricane Center accurately projected the storm's path. This satellite animation shows Sandy's progress from the southwest Atlantic northward into the Northeast U.S. and how it followed the National Hurricane Center's track issued at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 25 (Advisory #13). This movie's imagery is from GOES East from October 21, 2012 0345Z through October 31, 2012 1315Z and uses the track file located at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gis/forecast/archive/al182012_5day_013.zip

NOAA National Weather Service Accurately Predicted Sandy's Path

Central Gulf Coast Storm to Deepen into Nor'Easter

This storm along the central Gulf coast will move eastward to the eastern Florida coast and deepen. The system will travel northward paralleling the east coast northward to off the Delmarva Peninsula by Wednesday morning. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite around 1840Z on November 5, 2012.

Clouds Clear Over New York City, New Jersey

The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's day/night band measures light emanating from the ground showing human settlements and industrial activity, and also moonlight reflected off of clouds. The image on the left was taken on October 21, 2012, an evening of a waxing crescent moon with little cloud cover over the northeastern US. The image on the right was taken in the early morning of November 1, 2012, two days after a full moon. Hurricane Sandy's impact on the region can be seen clearly by comparing these two images.

Ambient Light Comparison of Sandy's Passing - Before and After

The NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's day/night band measures light emanating from the ground showing human settlements and industrial activity, and also moonlight reflected off of clouds. The image on the left was taken on October 21, 2012, an evening of a waxing crescent moon with little cloud cover over the northeastern US. The image on the right was taken in the early morning of October 31, 2012, a day after a full moon. The clouds are the remnants of Hurricane Sandy with just a few openings in the clouds showing the lights, or lack of them, from northern New Jersey and New York City.

Sandy's Impacts Felt Over Wide Area

Post-tropical cyclone Sandy is slowly moving westward while weakening across southern Pennsylvania. High wind warnings are in effect along the central to southern Appalachians and across portions of the Great Lakes. Storm warnings remain in effect along the mid-Atlantic and New England coast from Virginia to Massachusetts. Storm warnings are also in effect across the Great Lakes. Flood and coastal watches, warnings and advisories are in effect over portions of the mid-Atlantic and northeast states. Blizzard warnings remain in effect along the higher elevations of the central Appalachians. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories have been issued for extreme western Maryland and southwestward into eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky and extreme western North Carolina. Sandy has slowed in forward motion and is expected to continue its westward track across southern Pennsylvania this afternoon and should turn toward western New York tonight. The cyclone will move into Canada on Wednesday. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on October 30, 2012.

Sandy Makes Landfall

Post-Tropical Cyclone Sandy made landfall at 8pm ET on October 29, 2012 about 5 miles southwest of Atlantic City, NJ, as seen in this NOAA GOES-13 satellite colorized infrared image from the same time. Official projections from the National Hurricane Center have the storm moving westward through Pennsylvania and then moving north into New York. The change in designation from hurricane to post-tropical cyclone is due to a continued deterioration of the convective center of the system, characteristic of tropical cyclones and hurricanes. However, Sandy is just as dangerous - sustained 80 mph winds along with heavy rainfall, surge, and coastal and inland flooding are expected as this storm continues to move inland.

East Coast Braces as Sandy Approaches

The most recent orbit from NOAA and NASA’s latest weather satellite, Suomi NPP, acquired at 1:35 pm ET on October 29, 2012, shows Hurricane Sandy as it approaches the U.S. coastline. An advancement in the VIIRS sensor over its predecessors allows weather forecasters to access highly detailed 370 meter per pixel imagery in the infrared bands, providing much more information to forecasters about the storm's cloud structure and potential for intensification.

Hurricane Sandy Pounds the Northeast

Hurricane Sandy, with winds of 90 mph and heavy rains, is creating dangerous flooding conditions all along the Northeast U.S. from NC to New England. This NOAA GOES-13 satellite image taken on October 29, 2012 shows the storm as it is centered off of Maryland and Virginia. The storm is heading in a northwestern direction towards the Delaware and southern New Jersey coast.

Sandy Moving Through Northern Bahamas, Expected to Impact Mid-Atlantic or Northeast Early Next Week

Hurricane Sandy will move northward through the Bahamas on Friday, bringing tropical storm conditions to the east coast of Florida. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the Carolinas Saturday and Saturday night. Sandy is expected to turn toward the northeast on Saturday, followed by a turn to the northwest early next week, with direct impacts expected for the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast U.S. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on October 26, 2012.

Satellite Captures Detailed Imagery of Hurricane Sandy Intensification

Early in the morning on October 25, 2012, the Suomi NPP satellite passed over Hurricane Sandy after it made landfall over Cuba and Jamaica, capturing this highly detailed infrared imagery, showing areas of deep convection around the central eye. Besides the highly detailed infrared imagery, the satellite’s day night band captured detailed visible-like imagery of the cloud tops, along with the city lights of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

As most polar-orbiting satellites fly over an area, the visible and infrared sensors scan left to right. Data in the center part of the scan typically has the highest resolution and quality; farther out in the scan, the imagery gets distorted. An improvement in the Suomi NPP's VIIRS sensor over its predecessors reduces the loss of data quality along the length of the scan. Hurricane Sandy is a perfect example of the importance of this improvement – both times the satellite passed over Sandy on October 25th in consecutive orbits, the storm was on the edge of the scan area, which would have meant decreased image quality from previous satellites, but not Suomi NPP. Only at the very limits of the imagery (left hand side) can the edge of scan issues be seen in the day-night band image. These distortions would be much more pronounced in similar imagery from AVHRR or MODIS.

Hurricane Sandy Passes over Cuba, Heads to Bahamas

Hurricane Sandy has cleared western Cuba and is headed towards the Bahamas. Forecast models show Sandy maintaining significant intensity and high rainfall rates through the next 24 hours. This image was taken by GOES East at 1345Z on October 25, 2012.

Hurricane Sandy Forms in the Caribbean Sea

Hurricane Sandy has formed according to the 11 am EDT update from the NOAA National Hurricane Center. Environmental conditions are expected to remain favorable for additional strengthening to occur up until Sandy makes landfall on Jamaica early this evening. Uncertainties in the progression of atmospheric conditions after that, including wind shear effects and interactions of the storm with land, are contributing to a low confidence in the forecast out to 120 hours. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on October 24, 2012.

Tropical Storm Sandy and TD 19 Strengthening

Tropical Storm Sandy formed late yesterday afternoon, the eighteenth tropical storm of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Tropical Depression 19 is forecast to later today become Tropical Storm Tony as the Season remains active heading toward its historical conclusion on November 30.

Tropical Storm Sandy in the Caribbean is moving slowly northward now, but is expected to pick up speed later today. The center of Sandy should move near or over Jamaica on Wednesday as a hurricane and approach eastern Cuba by Wednesday night. Environmental conditions consisting of low shear, warm waters and a moist atmosphere favor strengthening during the next couple of days. This image was taken by GOES East at 1345Z on October 23, 2012.

Shifting Winds and Melting Arctic Ice

Wind speed and direction are driven by differences in atmospheric pressure - air moves from areas of high to low pressure, and the greater the pressure difference between two areas, the faster the air moves. Scientists at NOAA and in academia have uncovered that recently the Arctic has been experiencing a shift in the general patterns of high and low pressures, and thus the direction and speed of the winds, and that these changes may explain some of the dramatic sea ice loss experienced in the Arctic.

Shown here is an image that compares the atmospheric pressure (geopotential height at 700 mb) experienced during June of 2007-2012 compared to the longer term average for June from 1980-2010. Much higher pressure is found directly over the Arctic Ocean and Greenland. This difference in pressure has resulted in a change in the wind patterns, shown in this second image. Orange arrows indicate the relative direction and strength (indicated by the arrow length) or winds during the 2007-2012 periods, whereas the white arrows are the 1980-2010 average. The most pronounced changes in winds can be seen over the Chuchki Sea, just northeast of Alaska and also east of Greenland.

To read more about this finding and the potential effect on Arctic sea ice, please refer to the NOAA ClimateWatch article featuring these images or the NOAA News Story.

Low Pressure System Over Central United States

A cold front pushing through the eastern U.S. will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms across New England on Friday into Saturday morning. The upper level low supporting this system will push slowly northeastward over the Great Lakes supporting widespread, lingering showers over the Great Lakes region and into parts of New England through Sunday. Behind this system are high pressure and dryer conditions that should last into next week. This image was taken by GOES East at 1915Z on October 19, 2012.

NOAA's GOES-13 returns to full operations, GOES-14 to remain orbital spare

The GOES-13 spacecraft, which had its sounder and imager instruments taken out of service because of technical trouble in late September, returns to full operations on as NOAA's GOES East satellite today. The trouble stemmed from a motor vibration, which caused a lubricant buildup that obstructed the spinning motion of the filter wheel in the sounder. A team of engineers from NOAA, Boeing and ITT suppressed the vibration, the filter wheel was restarted and is now running smoothly with improved performance. This image is the first using GOES-13 as the operational East satellite taken at 1445Z on October 18, 2012. GOES-14 returns to standy mode as the backup GOES satellite, residing at 89.5 degrees west longitude.

GOES-13 to Resume Duties of GOES East

Tests on GOES-13 have concluded and the satellite is ready to resume operational status as GOES East, located at 75 degrees west longitude. The migration of GOES-14 has been halted and that satellite will maintain its position at 89.5 degrees west longitude as the standby GOES satellite. This image was taken by GOES-13 at 1445Z on October 16, 2012.

Global Temperature Ties with 2005 as Record Highest for September

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces tied with 2005 as the record highest for September at 60.21°F (15.67°C), or 1.21°F (0.67°C), above the 20th century average. It also marked the 36th consecutive September and 331st consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average September temperature was September 1976, and the last below-average temperature for any month was February 1985.

Tropical Depression 16 Forms Near the Bahamas

A relatively small area of low pressure that has persisted off of the Bahamas for the last few days has been upgraded to a Tropical Depression by the National Hurricane Center. The 16th storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season is not expected to last long though, as shear will begin to tear it apart over the next 24-36 hours, making Tropical Depression 16 little to no threat to the U.S. This true color image was acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite on October 11, 2012 at 1810z.

New Products Measure Heat Available for Hurricanes

The energy contained in the ocean (typically measured as heat) fuels hurricane formation, and understanding how much energy is available to hurricanes in the Atlantic basin has just improved through a new product developed by researchers at the University of Miami and implemented at NOAA. Traditionally, sea surface temperatures have been used to help predict hurricane intensification, but SSTs measure only the very upper skin of the ocean. Hurricanes, however, are able to extract heat energy from much deeper – it is believed that any depth of water with temperatures above 78 degrees F (26 C) can fuel hurricane intensification. By using data from the NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center’s World Ocean Atlas along with sea surface height measurements from the Jason satellites, the newly developed Ocean Heat Content product suite provides hurricane forecasters with more timely and accurate estimates of ocean heat energy.

The first image shows the depth of water with temperatures greater than or equal to 26 degrees C. Purplish colors indicate very deep pools of warm water. In 2005, it was these deep reserves of very warm Gulf of Mexico water that allowed for the development of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in quick succession.

The second image shows how much energy is contained in those same areas. Deeper water with higher temperatures holds more total energy (measured in Joules per meter squared). Traditionally, it has been believed that 60 Joules of heat content are required for hurricane intensification, but recent research is showing that this threshold may be even lower. Just as important as understanding the areas of high heat content, areas with low heat content (where hurricanes will weaken) are also important measurements when trying to predict storm path and intensity (the latter being the much more difficult forecast challenge).

Coldest Air Mass of the Season Surges South

The coldest air mass of the season thus far is surging south and east through the nation. Snow exceeding half a foot is possible across southeastern Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle through Sunday morning. Below normal temperatures are forecast over much of the country as cold Canadian air has plunged well below the 40 degree latitude line. The moisture content in the atmosphere will be limited which will keep the highest rainfall amounts along a strong frontal boundary advancing into the Ohio River Valley. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument between 1845Z and 1850Z on October 4, 2012.

High Chance for Tropical Cyclone Development in the Atlantic

This image at the far eastern extent of the GOES-14 full disk image shows thunderstorm activity associated with a large low pressure system located west of the Cape Verde Islands gradually becoming better organized. Environmental conditions are forecast to remain conducive for development and this system could become a tropical depression during the next day or so. GOES-14 is migrating eastward between now and November 2, 2012 to 75 degrees longitude as it assumes the duties of the GOES East operational satellite. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on October 2, 2012.

NOAA Changes GOES Satellite Positions in Space

NOAA’s geostationary satellites are typically centered over 75 degrees west longitude (GOES East) and 135 degrees (GOES West). However, when the satellite in the GOES East position began having data quality issues, the backup satellite GOES-14 was called into service. From its position at 105 degrees west longitude, it has been acting as GOES East for the past week. NOAA has decided that it is time to move GOES-14 into the traditional GOES East spot in space, replacing GOES-13. The maneuver began on October 1, 2012 and will take 33 days. At that time, GOES-13 will be moved into a storage spot where work to diagnose and fix the data quality issues from the imager and sounder instruments will continue.

NOAA Changes GOES Satellite Positions in Space

NOAA’s geostationary satellites are typically centered over 75 degrees west longitude (GOES East) and 135 degrees (GOES West). However, when the satellite in the GOES East position began having data quality issues, the backup satellite GOES-14 was called into service. From its position at 105 degrees west longitude, it has been acting as GOES East for the past week. NOAA has decided that it is time to move GOES-14 into the traditional GOES East spot in space, replacing GOES-13. The maneuver begins October 1, 2012 and will take 33 days. At that time, GOES-13 will be moved into a storage spot where work to diagnose and fix the data quality issues from the imager and sounder instruments will continue.

Long-Lived Hurricane Nadine at Night

Nadine has reached hurricane strength for a second time in its 18 day lifespan. This image shows Nadine as imaged by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP VIIRS instrument's day/night band. This band collects information from the ambient light radiated into space from human settlement and activities and also captures reflected moonlight from cloud structures. Last night's waxing gibbous moon shone enough light on the clouds of Nadine in the Atlantic Ocean south of the Azores in the horse latitudes to see clear structural features of the storm. The image was taken around 0413Z on September 28, 2012, 11:13 EST on September 27, 2012.

Super Typhoon Jelawat To Make Turn Toward Okinawa

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center states that Super Typhoon Jelawat is an intense system with a 36 nautical mile round eye, multiple tightly-curved spiral bands wrapping into a symmetric eyewall with excellent radial outflow. Forecast model guidance is clustered currently on the center of Jelawat passing over or quite near to Okinawa early Sunday morning. This image was taken by MTSAT-2 at 0630Z on September 27, 2012. An unannotated version of this image can be seen here.

Northwest U.S. Covered in a Smoky Haze

Wildfires spread out among the Eastern Great Basin, Northern Rockies and Northwest geographic areas are contributing to the vast area of smoke covering parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. This image taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS instrument was collected between 2010Z and 2015Z on September 24, 2012.

GOES-14 Replaces GOES-13 as the GOES East Satellite

After the GOES-13 satellite experienced issues with data from the imager and sounder instruments for the last several days, the GOES-14 satellite has been activated and has replaced GOES-13 as the NOAA operational GOES East satellite. Around a month ago, GOES-14 was taken out of storage and activated for routine maneuvers and several experiments in preparation for the next generation GOES-R satellite. GOES-14 will remain the primary GOES satellite over the Atlantic basin and Continental U.S. until the imager and sounder data issues on GOES-13 can be fully diagnosed and hopefully fixed. NOAA maintains backup GOES satellites in case unforeseen events occur, providing full redundancy for monitoring severe weather over the U.S. and its territories.

This image was acquired from the GOES-14 satellite on September 24, 2012 at 1745z, the first image from GOES-14 while acting as GOES East. A larger image can be downloaded here.

Hurricane Miriam Strengthens in the Pacific

Miriam has continued to rapidly strengthen and forecasts show a deeper and more robust cyclone in the next few days as the storm tracks toward Baja California. Strengthening to category 4 is possible although Miriam's small-diameter eye raises the possibility of the storm going through an eyewall replacement cycle, attenuating further strengthening during the next 24 hours. This image was taken by GOES-14, during a period of testing before returning to storage mode, at 1415Z on September 24, 2012.

Washington State Wildfires Close to Merging

The unseasonably hot and dry weather in Central Washington continues to spur extreme fire behavior. South facing slopes are particularly volatile as fuels dry through the day and relative humidity continues to be low. The Wenatchee Complex and Table Mountain Complex fires burning in the Wenatchee National Forest are threatening to merge as fire fighting personnel from all over the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada continue to manage these blazes. This image was taken by the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite from 2000Z through 2010Z on September 19, 2012.

Polar-orbiting satellites track the subtle changes in the environment that can trigger potentially deadly weather conditions, from tornadoes to tropical storms. The next generation satellites such as NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP and the future Joint Polar Satellite System will provide critical data to weather models and forecasters to help maintain the accuracy and reliability of today's weather forecasts and outlooks. Imagery and data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products.

Arctic Sea Ice Extent Sets Seasonal Record

The National Snow and Ice Data Center announced today that on September 16, 2012 sea ice extent dropped to 3.41 million square kilometers (1.32 million square miles). This appears to have been the lowest extent of the year. In response to the setting sun and falling temperatures, ice extent will now climb through autumn and winter. However, a shift in wind patterns or a period of late season melt could still push the ice extent lower. The minimum extent was reached three days later than the 1979 to 2000 average minimum date of September 13.

This year’s minimum was 760,000 square kilometers (293,000 square miles) below the previous record minimum extent in the satellite record, which occurred on September 18, 2007. This is an area about the size of the state of Texas. The September 2012 minimum was in turn 3.29 million square kilometers (1.27 million square miles) below the 1979 to 2000 average minimum, representing an area nearly twice the size of the state of Alaska. This year’s minimum is 18% below 2007 and 49% below the 1979 to 2000 average.

This image shows the ice extent using sea ice concentration data from the DMSP SSMI/S satellite sensor. The black area represents the daily average (median) sea ice extent over the 1979-2000 time period. Layered over top of that is the daily satellite measurements from September 16, 2012. An animation showing the sea ice extent from January through September 14, 2012 can be found here.

Strong Front Moving on to the East Coast

A strong front extending from the lower Great Lakes to the central Gulf Coast and Southern Plains will slowly move eastward off most of the East Coast by Wednesday evening. Very moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean will combine with strong upper-level dynamics to produce showers and thunderstorms from the eastern Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic expanding into parts of southern New England by Tuesday evening. The system will produce moderate to heavy rain over parts of the lower Great Lakes and northern Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday moving into the Northeast and southeastern Canada by Wednesday morning. The southern end of the front will linger over parts of the Southeast producing showers and thunderstorms along parts of the Southeast coast through Wednesday evening. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on September 18, 2012.

The Arctic's Record Breaking Ice Melt

The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean dropped below the previous all-time record set in 2007. This year also marks the first time that there has been less than 4 million square kilometers (1.54 million square miles) of sea ice since satellite observations began in 1979. This animation shows the 2012 time-series of ice extent using sea ice concentration data from the DMSP SSMI/S satellite sensor. The black area represents the daily average (median) sea ice extent over the 1979-2000 time period. Layered over top of that are the daily satellite measurements from January 1 – September 14, 2012. A rapid melt begins in July, whereby the 2012 ice extents fall far below the historical average. The National Snow and Ice Data Center will confirm the final minimum ice extent data and area once the melt stabilizes, usually in mid-September.

The Arctic's Record Breaking Ice Melt

The sea ice in the Arctic Ocean dropped below the previous all-time record set in 2007. This year also marks the first time that there has been less than 4 million square kilometers (1.54 square miles) of sea ice since satellite observations began in 1979. This animation shows the 2012 time-series of ice extent using sea ice concentration data from the DMSP SSMI/S satellite sensor. The black area represents the daily average (median) sea ice extent over the 1979-2000 time period. Layered over top of that are the daily satellite measurements from January 1 – September 14, 2012. A rapid melt begins in July, whereby the 2012 ice extents fall far below the historical average. The National Snow and Ice Data Center will confirm the final minimum ice extent data and area once the melt stabilizes, usually in mid-September.

Super Typhoon Sanba Bears Down on Okinawa

Super Typhoon Sanba is tracking northward at 11 knots per hour according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The center of Sanba is forecast to move directly over Okinawa, Japan by 00Z on September 16, 2012 bringing sustained winds of 115 knots with gusts to 140 knots. The U.S. Air Force Base Kadena on the island of Okinawa, Japan, has upgraded the Current Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness to TCCOR2; destructive winds of 50 knots or greater are anticipated within 24 hours. This image was taken by MTSAT-2 at 0730Z on September 14, 2012. An unannotated version can be found here.

Strong Cold Front Stretches Across the U.S.

A strong cold front continues to drop temperatures well below mid-September normals as it crosses the United States. Beneficial rains will help the drought-stricken Plains with the potential for heavy rain across Texas and Oklahoma. Maximum day time temperatures are forecast to drop between 10 to 20 degrees after the passage of the front. This image was taken by GOES East at 1815Z on September 13, 2012.

Tropical Storm Nadine Strengthens in the Atlantic

Tropical Storm Nadine is in the Atlantic Ocean near 19N 47W moving toward the west-northwest at 13 knots. It is possible that Nadine may become a hurricane tonight or on Thursday, and may rapidly intensify. This image was taken by GOES East at 1845Z on September 12, 2012.

Hurricane Iniki Strikes Kaua'i in 1992

On the afternoon of September 11, 1992, a small but intense Hurricane Iniki struck Hawaii across the island of Kaua'i. Although all islands felt the storm, the islands of Kaua'i and O'ahu were most impacted. Seven persons were killed and about 100 injured; total damage was about $1.8 billion. The south shore of Kaua'i near Port Allen took the brunt of the storm with wind gusts measured to 143 mph and water levels (a combination of storm surge and waves) nearly 30 feet above normal. This image was taken by GOES-7 at 0101Z on September 12, 1992. At this time, GOES-7 was the only operational geostationary satellite. In spite of this limitation and an extremely sparse surface data network, NWS forecasters and meteorological technicians across the state provided excellent warning services to residents and visitors.

This storm also completed a “clean sweep” of National Weather Service offices responsible for issuing hurricane warnings. The National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Florida (Hurricane Andrew), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Guam (Typhoon Omar), and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii (Hurricane Iniki) were all struck by strong hurricanes within a 2-month span.

Hurricane Michael Reaches Category 3

With maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, Hurricane Michael is the first Atlantic storm of the 2012 season to reach Category 3 intensity. The storm is shown here in high resolution infrared imagery from the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite taken on September 6, 2012 at 04:22z.

Hurricane Leslie Heads for Bermuda

Hurricane Leslie has become the sixth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season. The storm is over warm sea surface temperatures although the slow speed of the storm could cause upwelling of cooler water to moderate strengthening over the next few days. The forecast track shows Leslie accelerating through Saturday and passing very near Bermuda Sunday morning. This image was taken by GOES East at 1915Z on September 5, 2012.

Busy Day in the Tropics

Four storms in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific are in various stages of development. Tropical Storm Isaac is slowly weakening over central Louisiana, but is still producing heavy rain, severe weather and high water levels along the northern Gulf coast. Hurricane Ileana is in the eastern Pacific and growing a little stronger, but is headed for cooler waters. Hurricane Kirk has become the fifth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season and is expected to stay well offshore. Tropical Depression 12 has formed far east of the Lesser Antilles and is forecast to reach hurricane strength in a couple of days. It is still too soon to know what impacts Tropical Depression 12 might have on land. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on August 30, 2012.

Wildfire Continuing to Ravage the Western U.S.

One orbit, or about 90 minutes, after passing over Isaac in the Gulf of Mexico on August 28th, the Suomi NPP satellite passed over the Western U.S., capturing imagery of the wildfires that have been ravaging California, Oregon, and Idaho for weeks.

Satellite Captures Incredibly Detailed Image of Isaac

At 1:35pm CDT on August 28, 2012 the recently launched Suomi NPP satellite flew over Isaac, capturing this image of the storm with the true color capability of the VIIRS sensor.

Data courtesy of the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite

Analysis Shows Isaac Wind Speed at Landfall

Using data from the NOAA AOML Hurricane Research Division’s surface wind analysis, the wind speeds just before landfall (August 28, 2012 at 2230z) are plotted here in 10 mph increments. This analysis combines wind measurements from all available surface weather observation platforms, along with satellite and aircraft reconnaissance. The effect of land on hurricane intensity is clearly visible in this image: wind speeds decline as they move on land. Though because the coast of Louisiana has a large marsh area, which acts to baffle the effects of hurricanes, there is not as dramatic affect as is found when hurricanes make landfall on more “hard” coasts.

Hurricane Isaac Makes Landfall

With sunlight fading, the NOAA GOES-13 satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Isaac at 23:45 UTC (6:46 pm CDT) as the storm made landfall in Plaquemines Parish, which is about 95 miles east of New Orleans. Issac struck the coast with around 80 mph winds and has caused severe flooding along the coast, and will continue to bring heavy rains and floods to the region as it continues northward.

High Speed Imagery of Tropical Storm Isaac

The evolution of Tropical Storm Isaac is captured here in high speed imagery provided by the NOAA GOES-14 satellite.

NOAA operates two geostationary satellites that provide round-the-clock coverage of weather over the western hemisphere. There is also a spare satellite that can take the place of any two operational satellites if a failure should occur. On August 16th, NOAA activated the backup satellite, GOES-14, for routine testing and also turned on the satellite's 1 minute Super Rapid Scan Operations imaging. Usually satellites take images every 30 minutes. GOES-14 is providing 1 minute imagery, which is giving scientist a sense of the type of imagery that GOES-R will provide after its launch in 2015. As amazing as 1 minute imagery appears, GOES-R will have the capability to provide 30 second imagery, which is 60x more frequent than GOES provides routine imagery.

High Speed Imagery of Tropical Storm Isaac

The evolution of Tropical Storm Isaac is captured here in high speed imagery provided by the NOAA GOES-14 satellite.

Isaac's Heavy Rains to Soak the Gulf Coast

Winds are rarely the most dangerous part of a tropical cyclone - heavy rains and surge cause many times more fatalities, as was seen when Hurricane Katrina struck seven years ago. NOAA's latest model analysis of the predicted rainfall from Isaac show up to 18 inches of rain may fall in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi over the next five days. Surrounding areas in the Gulf of Mexico may expect 8-12 inches. When combined with the surge moving in from the coast, these totals will create dangerous flooding conditions for many areas.

Hurricane Warnings Posted for Gulf Coast Ahead of Isaac

Hurricane Warnings have been posted for east of Morgan City, LA to Destin, FL including metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas. A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. A Warning is typically issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical storm force winds, conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion. This image was taken by GOES East at 1545Z on August 27, 2012.

Tropical Storm Isaac in the Caribbean

Tropical Storm Isaac still lacks organization in its inner core and limited strengthening is expected before the cyclone begins to interact with Hispaniola in the next 24 hours. Isaac is forecast to change little as it moves over portions of Cuba, but has opportunities to strengthen once it moves over the Straights of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. This image was taken by GOES East at 1315Z on August 24, 2012.

Hurricane Andrew: 20 Years Later

Twenty years ago, the NOAA-12 polar-orbiting satellite caught this glimpse of Hurricane Andrew – one day before it made landfall near Homestead, Florida. With maximum sustained winds of 167 mph, Andrew is still ranked as the second strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Only Camille in 1969 was stronger.

Satellite observations have advanced tremendously since the time of Hurricane Andrew. NOAA has launched 8 polar-orbiting satellites since NOAA-12. This RGB composite image of Hurricane Andrew pales in comparison to the life-like detail and resolution of the true color capabilities of the VIIRS sensor on board the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. Likewise, the GOES satellites have gone through two major upgrades, and are preparing for the newest generation, GOES-R, to launch in 2015. In 1992 only a single GOES watched over the Western Hemisphere as Hurricane Andrew came ashore, whereas NOAA now operates two GOES, providing more coverage and redundancy to carefully monitor severe weather from the across the Pacific and Atlantic.

Structure of Tropical Storm Isaac Slowly Improving

Tropical Storm Isaac's central core remains disorganized while the overall structure of the storm continues to improve, with a large outer band forming around the center's convection. Environmental conditions are still favorable for intensification until the center reaches Hispaniola in about 48 hours. After that, the storm's intensity will be determined by how much time Isaac spends over land. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on August 22, 2012

Tropical Storm Isaac Forms; Imminent Depression to the East

Isaac reached tropical storm status last evening and is approaching the Lesser Antilles. Tropical Storm Warnings and Watches have been posted for areas throughout the Caribbean. Please stay informed by visiting the NOAA National Hurricane Center for updates.

Satellite imagery indicates that a tropical depression could be forming in the eastern Tropical Atlantic about 725 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Advisories may be issued later this morning. This image was taken by GOES East at 1145Z on August 22, 2012.

Updated Fire Imagery from the Suomi NPP Satellite

Captured on August 20th, 2012, this image from the Suomi NPP satellites shows the smoke plumes from the fires afflicting Northern California. A second close-up image uses a combination of high resolution visible and infrared imagery to distinguish not only the smoke plumes, but also the hotspots from the fires themselves (high pink color). The dark red-brown colors also indicate burn scars from where fires have been extinguished.

Tropical Depression 9 Forms in the Atlantic

Tropical Depression 9 is forecast to move generally westward for the next few days. The depression is currently experiencing light to moderate wind shear that should diminish during the next 24 hours leaving the cyclone in a favorable environment for strengthening. The forecast shows the system becoming a tropical storm later this evening and developing into a hurricane within 48 hours.

The well-defined low pressure system to the east of Tropical Depression 9 is associated with a tropical wave and the showers and thunderstorms continue to show signs of organization. A tropical depression could form during the next day or two and has a high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves westward at about 15 mph. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on August 21, 2012.

Disturbance in Eastern Atlantic Poised to Intensify

An area of low pressure is located about 1000 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. While Satellite imagery and buoy observations indicate that the circulation has become better defined over the past few hours, shower and thunderstorm activity remains limited. Environmental conditions remain conducive for a tropical depression to form during the next day or so as this low moves westward at 20 to 25 mph. This system has a high chance of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours. This system could reach the Lesser Antilles by Wednesday and interests in that area should monitor the progress of this disturbance. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on August 20, 2012.

Updated Fire Imagery from the Suomi NPP Satellite

The smoky haze has lifted over Northern California, Nevada and Idaho, revealing the many fires afflicting the region in this latest image from the Suomi NPP satellite, taken on August 16th, 2012. The “afternoon orbit” of Suomi NPP, along with its sister satellites NOAA-19 and NASA Aqua, are specifically designed to pass over the United States during the peak of the afternoon when wildfires are usually at their most intense of the day, providing timely, high resolution updates when firefighters need them the most. Not only is the afternoon orbit critical for fire weather information, but it is also important for understanding severe weather intensification such as in tornadoes and hurricanes, as the highest amount of convection typically occurs in the late afternoon.

Mapping the Fires in the Western U.S.

As wildfires ignite, shift, and are eventually extinguished, NOAA’s satellites are providing round-the-clock monitoring of wildfire locations and intensities. This image shows some of the 11,365 wildfire targets identified by NOAA and NASA satellites from August 10-15, 2012 over North America. Each tiny red pixel represents one fire target detected over those 144 hours. The infrared sensors on the GOES, POES, Aqua/Terra, and Suomi NPP satellites can detect the heat emitted by wildfires and map their locations with greater than 1 kilometer accuracy.

Fires Rage in the Western U.S.

A Suomi NPP satellite pass captured the smoke plumes emanating from fires across the Western U.S. on August 14th, 2012. A high concentration of fires can be seen in Idaho, though smoke from other fires in Oregon, Washington, and Montana are also visible - as are the shrouds of haze blanketing the region as heavy winds spread the smoke through the atmosphere.

A close-up image of the Idaho fires using the high resolution infrared and visible bands on Suomi NPP VIIRS sensor shows even more detail of the hot spots and smoke plumes.

Warm Ocean Temperatures Lead to Loss of Sea Ice

Higher than average sea surface temperatures drove dramatic reductions in the concentration of sea ice in the Arctic during July 2012. These elevated temperatures can be seen in the image on the left, where areas of intense red indicate much higher than normal sea surface temperatures. The image is paired with the sea ice concentration for the same period of July 1-31, 2012. Areas with higher than normal sea surface temperature appear to co-occur with areas of no sea ice or reduced concentration. The extent of sea ice in the Arctic was 21.4% below the average for July in 2012 – the second lowest on record for any July since satellite observations began in 1979. Only 2011 had a lower average July sea ice extent in the Arctic.

The sea surface temperature image uses satellite data from the National Climatic Data Center’s analysis of the POES AVHRR measurements; sea ice concentration data is acquired from the SSMI/S satellite sensor.

A detailed analysis of ocean conditions and predictions are provided each month by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center.

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak Brings More Rain to Manila

Tropical Storm Kai-Tak is forecast to bring more heavy rains to the Manila, Philippines area, hit last week with heavy flooding that affected millions of people. Kai-Tak will move northwestward into the East China Sea in the next 12 hours into an area of decreasing wind shear. But lowering sea surface temperatures should keep intensification down before making landfall north of Hong Kong in a couple of days. This image was taken by MTSAT-2 at 1730Z on August 13, 2012.

Arctic Storm Further Reduces Ice Concentrations

An unusually strong storm moved across the Arctic earlier this week, bringing heavy winds and rain to Alaska and locations poleward. One of the most pronounced effects of the storm was a shift in Arctic sea ice concentrations. This image uses data from the SSMI/S microwave sensor on board the DMSP satellite to show the sea ice concentrations on August 1st and 8th, before and after the storm. Large reductions in extent and concentration can be seen in the left-hand side of each image where the Bering Sea empties into the Arctic Ocean. The sea ice, already at record-low concentrations this summer, is also incredibly thin after several years of intense summer melting, making the movement of ice flows very susceptible to large storm events such as the one this week. Often the thin ice flows are piled up along the northern Canadian and Greenland borders, which appears to have also happened in this case as concentrations are slightly higher in the latter image in those regions.

U.S. Drought Continues to Intensify

Although there has been some improvement in the Upper Plains, the drought conditions in much of the U.S. are only getting worse, especially for those hardest hit. Shown here is the U.S. Drought Monitor released on August 9, 2012. The most intensely impacted areas with Severe to Exceptional drought levels increased to 46% of the Contiguous U.S. Only 21.86% of the U.S. is unaffected by dry or drought conditions. The latest U.S. Drought Outlook by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center expects some improvement into early fall in the Southwest and Southeast, but many parts of the country may see the on-going effects of drought for quite some time.

Extreme Heat Grips Southwestern U.S.

The Southwestern U.S. is no stranger to heat, but this week has been and will continue to be especially intense for parts of southern California and western New Mexico. Temperatures have broken the 100 degree mark throughout much of the region, and have sent heat indexes even higher. Using NOAA’s high resolution Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis Model, the maximum temperatures for August 1-7, 2012 are shown. The dark orange colors in the image brings attention to the current high temperatures in California and also the extreme heat that gripped Oklahoma earlier in the month, causing the on-going record droughts for that region.

Ernesto is Upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane

As of 2pm EDT, the National Hurricane Center has upgraded Ernesto to a Category 1 hurricane after Air Force hurricane hunters measured maximum sustained winds of 80 mph inside the storm. Not only has Ernesto strengthened around 15 mph since the last advisory around, but the storm as also taken on a much more organized shape, as seen in this image from the GOES-13 satellite taken on August 7, 2012 at 18:15z. Hurricane warnings have been extended to include Cozumel as the storm moves west-northwest at 14 mph. Some intensification is expected over the next 12 hours, possibly up to 90 mph maximum sustained winds.

Updated imagery and animations can be found on our real-time page.

Saharan Dust Weakens Tropical Storm Florence

As Tropical Storm Florence was moving across the Atlantic, a large plume of dust blowing off of the Saharan Desert in Africa was enveloping the storm. Called the Saharan Air Layer, this dust and warm, dry air that move across the Atlantic creates an atmospheric barrier preventing storm systems for developing deeper convection vertically through the atmosphere, and in a sense putting the brakes on hurricane formation. Two images taken from the Suomi NPP satellite document the Saharan Air Layer and its affect on Tropical Storm Florence. The first image, taken around 14:00z on August 5, 2012, shows the dust plume being blown off the African coast, along with the “wakes” of dust coming off the Canary Islands. The second image, taken as the satellite made its next orbit around Earth at around 15:40z, shows the dust plume surrounding and interacting with the cloud structures of Tropical Storm Florence. In the guidance discussions from August 5th, the National Hurricane Center noted the lack of deep convection and the presence of the Saharan air wrapping around the circulation, along with increasing shear, as probable causes for the dissipation from Florence’s maximum the wind speeds of 58 mph to the current 35 mph speeds.

Tropical Storm Ernesto Impacts Lesser Antilles

At 370 meters per pixel, the infrared imagery of the Suomi NPP satellite provides amazing detail of the cloud structures of Tropical Storm Ernesto. The satellite passed over Ernesto on August 3, 2012 at 05:12z as the storm approached the Lesser Antilles. The center of Ernesto has since passed between the Grenadines and Saint Lucia, and is heading west into the Caribbean with 50 mph winds. The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to strengthen to hurricane strength over the next 48-72 hours.

An unlabeled version can be downloaded here.

Tropical Storm Ernesto Forms

A recent Air Force reconnaissance mission has revealed that though unorganized, what was previously Tropical Depression Five actually has sustained winds of 51 mph, and has thus been named the fifth storm of the 2012 Atlantic season: Ernesto. Updated models also indicate that the storm may intensify to hurricane strength by August 6th. This GOES-13 colorized infrared image from August 2, 2012 at 2045z uses shades of orange to indicate cloud top temperatures. Cooler cloud tops are associated with more intense areas of the storm and are darker in color. Ernesto is about 300 miles east of Barbados and on a westward track.

For the most updated imagery and animations, please see our real-time GOES page here.

Tropical Depression Five Forms in the Atlantic

The National Hurricane Center upgraded the low pressure system in the Atlantic to Tropical Depression 5 on August 1, 2012 at 5pm EDT. Since then the storm has changed little in intensity, with sustained winds estimated at around 35 mph. The most recent NHC discussion notes significant westerly shear that is affecting the storm, and suggests that TD5 may weaken back into a tropical wave later today as it moves westward into the Caribbean towards Central America.

This image was taken by the GOES-13 satellite on August 2, 2012 at 1345z.

NOTE: The analysis by the National Hurricane Center has since been updated as of 5pm EDT. TD5 has been upgraded to tropical storm status.

Low Pressure System Moves into the British Isles

A low pressure system in between Iceland and Ireland is moving towards the British Isles. The cyclonic storm has a low central pressure of 975 millibars with 67 mph winds, and will move south towards Ireland over the next two days. Rains are expected for much of Ireland, Great Britain, and Northern Europe later in the week. This Suomi NPP satellite image was taken on August 1, 2012 at 13:45 GMT.

Polar orbiting satellites such as Suomi NPP are incredibly important for monitoring weather conditions at higher latitudes, as geostationary data and imagery becomes degraded above 60 degrees north.

Tropical Storm Damrey Brushes Japanese Coast

Tropical Storm Damrey is seen here in this image acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite on July 31, 2012 at 3:45 GMT (12:45 pm local JST). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicts a path that will take Damrey along the southern tip of Japan and into the Chinese mainland, making landfall near Shanghai on August 2nd. Currently, the storm has sustained winds of 51 mph and is expected to intensify to around 63 mph over the next 24 hours before dissipating.

A full-resolution image may be downloaded here (Note: 21 MB in size).

Atlantic Storm Shows Signs of Intensification

The GOES-13 satellite is tracking a tropical wave as it moves across the central Atlantic, shown in this image from July 30, 2012 at 17:45z. The storm is about 800 miles northeast of the Brazilian coast. The National Hurricane Center estimates a 20% chance that this system may organize into a tropical cyclone within the next 48 hours.

Let the Games Begin: a Satellite Image of London

Southern England and Northern France as seen from space on July 25, 2012 – the day actual competition began at the 2012 London Olympic Games. This 370 meter resolution image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite and uses different wavelengths of light to differentiate between vegetation types. Cities and other non-vegetated areas show up as a purple color. The metropolitan areas of London and Paris are clearly visible. Zooming out to 750 meter resolution, the entire region can be seen using the satellite’s true color capability. Phytoplankton and sediment can be seen in the coastal areas and throughout the English Channel and into the North Sea.

The Suomi NPP satellite, a joint NOAA-NASA mission, provides global weather observations and data, as does its predecessor POES satellite, for use by weather agencies around the world.

High Temperatures Create Conditions Favorable for Intense Storms

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center is watching a system that is developing across the Midwest U.S. on July 26th, 2012. Analysis shows the potential for flash floods and possibly another derecho to develop across the Ohio and Mid-Atlantic regions. Using data from the NOAA Rapid Refresh Model, the maximum convective potential energy (also called CAPE) for July 26th is shown here. Areas colored dark purple are very unstable parts of the atmosphere, with the potential to develop severe weather. The derecho that hit the DC region in June generated CAPE values in excess of 5,000 Joules per kilogram (a measurement of energy). The system being watched today has similar levels of potential energy. However, it should be noted that although CAPE describes the energy available in the atmosphere to fuel severe weather, other conditions may inhibit severe weather formation. The Storm Prediction Center’s current convective outlook categories are also noted on the map.

The Rapid Refresh Model is a relatively new tool for forecasters at NOAA, providing highly detailed models that are updated each hour. This type of timely information is critical for monitoring and predicting the development of fast moving systems such as derechos, especially when paired with rapid-scan satellite imagery that provide updates on conditions every 5 minutes.

Typhoon Vicente Rapidly Intensifies Near Hong Kong

Typhoon Vicente in the South China Sea has rapidly intensified and menaces Hong Kong and Macau with winds of category 4 strength. Significant wave heights near 30 feet and a slow 8 knots per hour westward movement will bring significant flooding to low lying areas and islands east of Yangjiang. This image was taken by the Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-2 at 0832Z on July 23, 2012.

Extended Drought Conditions in the United States

By early July 2012, more than 60% of the contiguous United States was experiencing drought conditions, nearly double the area from early January. This animation shows monthly composites of D1 to D4 categories of drought in the contiguous U.S. over the time frame January 2012 to July 2012 using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Drought Monitor summary map identifies general drought areas, labeling droughts by intensity, with D1 (lightest color) being the least intense and D4 (darkest color) being the most intense.

Extended Drought Conditions in the United States

Drought and Vegetation Health

The United States is experiencing one of the worst droughts since the 1950’s. Hot temperatures and low precipitation have created a visible impact across the nation: stressed and dying vegetation. NOAA’s satellites are used to measure the impact of drought on vegetation, and in many ways, the ability to measure the impact on vegetation provides a more readily understandable way to measure drought. This animation shows monthly composites of vegetation health index derived from data from the AVHRR sensor on-board the NOAA POES satellite. Areas colored in shades of orange are experiencing moderate through exceptional drought conditions and are consistent with areas of vegetation stress.

Drought and Vegetation Health

NOAA: June 2012 was 4th Warmest on Record for the Globe

June 2012 was the 4th warmest on record for the globe according to an analysis by the NOAA National Climatic Data Center. Warmer than normal temperatures were especially prevalent across the Northern Hemisphere, which, when analyzed separately, were the warmest June since records began in 1880. The full state of the climate report for June 2012 can be viewed here on the NCDC website.

Wildfires Scar Southeast Oregon

Two large wildfires are burning in southeast Orgeon, as seen in this image taken on July 12, 2012 by the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite. Smoke plumes can be see extending from the eastern edges of the Miller Homestead and Long Draw fires. The burn scars are even more pronounced. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that the Long Draw fire has burned around 500,000 acres in Malheur County, and is only 50% contained. The Miller Homestead file is much smaller in its burn extent but is rapidly increasing in size, and is only 10% contained.

An unannotated version can be downloaded here.

Busy East Pacific Hurricane Season

Tropical Storm Fabio has formed in the east Pacific, near Clipperton Island, the sixth named storm of the 2012 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season. Hurricane Emilia is entering an area of cooler sea surface temperatures and will begin to weaken off her 100 mph winds from earlier today. The remnants of Hurricane Daniel can be seen far to the west near Hawaii. This image was taken by GOES West at 1800Z on July 12, 2012.

Severe Turbulence Affects Miami-Bound Aircraft

Strong convection over Cuba and in the Florida Straights contributed to severely turbulent conditions that affected American Airlines Flight 1780 as it approached Miami International Airport on Tuesday, July 10, 2012. At the time this image was taken by GOES East at 2145Z, storms covered almost the entire length and breadth of Cuba and others were developing along the aircraft's approach path to the airport. The turbulence caused injuries to passengers and flight crew during a 15 second time span 30 minutes from the Aruba-originated flight's conclusion.

Heavy Rains Cause Devastating Flood in Krymsk, Russia

This image from July 6, 2012 shows the low pressure system that had moved westward over the preceding days gathering strength from the warm Black Sea. In the early hours of Saturday July 7 the city of Krymsk, Russia, endured frightening flash flooding as the storm dumped 11 inches of water in a few short hours. This image is from the Suomi-NPP satellite's moderate resolution true color channels from 1000Z to 1010Z on July 6, 2012.

Tropical Storm Daniel Moves Out to Sea

Tropical Storm Daniel, with winds of 65 mph, is moving due west in the Pacific and away from any land threats. The storm may intensify later today into hurricane strength. This true color image was taken by the VIIRS sensor on board the Suomi NPP satellite at around 20:20z on July 5, 2012.

Sweltering Heat From the Mid-West to the East Coast

A large ridge of high pressure will persist over the central U.S. promoting continued heat and humidity for the central and southern states. Well above normal temperatures are expected from the central Plains eastward to the Ohio Valley and southward to the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley. As the ridge expands eastward over the next few days much of the eastern third of the country will see a resurgence of the heat experienced last weekend.

A cold front moving along the top of the ridge will continue to trigger convection as it pushes through the upper Mid-West on Tuesday and into the northeastern U.S. by Wednesday evening. Given the abundance of moisture and instability available, some of the developing storms may be quite strong or even severe. In addition, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected Tuesday and Wednesday across a very large warm sector stretching from the Great Lakes to the southeast.

This image shows the average maximum temperature from July 3 through July 7, 2012 from the North American Model forecast.

Historic Storm Strikes U.S. East Coast

A week-long heat wave and an upper level disturbance over Chicago combined to spawn an historic storm featuring a rare and destructive phenomenon known as a derecho. A derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. Although a derecho can produce destruction similar to that of tornadoes, the damage typically is directed in one direction along a relatively straight swath. As a result, the term "straight-line wind damage" sometimes is used to describe derecho damage. By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles (about 400 kilometers) and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph (93 km/h) or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho. This movie shows imagery from the GOES East satellite starting at 0015Z on June 29, 2012 and ending 2345Z on June 30, 2012.

Historic Storm Strikes U.S. East Coast

NOAA Model Shows Wildfire Smoke Dispersion

When volcanoes erupt, toxic plumes are released, or wildfires burn, NOAA’s HYSPLIT model is used to answer some fundamental questions: where will it go and how concentrated will it be? The HYSPLIT wild fire smoke model run on June 29th, 2012 at 6z shows the cloud of smoke being emitted from many of the wildfires raging in the Western U.S. The actual locations of these point-source pollutants can be seen as very high concentration smoke areas. The ability of the GOES satellite to detect aerosols is an important input to these models, as are the wind measurements derived from GOES infrared imagery.

NOAA Model Shown Wildfire Smoke Dispersion

Extreme Drought Fueling Wildfires

Persistent drought and prevailing winds are creating some of the worst fire weather conditions in the Western U.S. this year. Much of central and western Colorado is experiencing an extreme drought, as seen in this image using data from the U.S. Drought Monitor (released on June 26, 2012). Conditions are not much better for the rest of the U.S. Across the entire Continental U.S., 72% of the land area is classified as being in dry or drought conditions. Conditions are not expected to improve much over the summer. The NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s drought outlook shows much of the U.S. in persistent drought conditions, with very few areas improving. The recent rains brought by Tropical Storm Debby are providing some reprieve for Florida and Georgia.

Over Two Feet of Rain Soaks Florida

Tropical Storm Debby (now downgraded to a tropical depression) has moved over the Florida Panhandle and is out to sea, leaving behind flooded towns and at least one fatality. The National Weather Service has measured in excess of two feet of rain from this system. A map of the rainfall totals from June 23-27, 2012 shows that the highest amounts occurred near Lake City, just south of the Georgia border.

Smoke Plumes Billow Across the Western U.S.

Imagery from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite (taken on June 26, 2012) shows smoke plumes billowing across the large parts of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. Data from the USDA Forest Service estimates that 181,600 acres are actively burning in these three states alone. The Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado has displaced over 30,000 residents. Clouds partially obscure many of the more intense smoke plumes in Colorado in this true color imagery. A close-up of the Great Salt Lake region using not the true color bands on the VIIRS sensor in the previous image, but a combination of the high resolution visible and infrared bands (I3, I2, I1) provides more details: vegetation condition, hot spots showing where the active fires are located, burn scars from where the fire was extinguished, and smoke plumes.

Unannotated versions of the images can be downloaded here.

Tropical Storm Debby: Contrasting Satellite Perspectives: VIIRS True Color

Tropical Storm Debby has been churning off the coast of the Florida Panhandle, dumping in excess of 20" of rain in the past 3 days. At around 2:35 EDT on Monday, June 25th, the Suomi NPP satellite flew over the storm, collecting data from its suite of sensors including VIIRS, which captures data from the visible and infrared spectrum. About 30 minutes later, the NOAA-19 satellite passed over the same area. These series of images contrast the data collected between the newest NOAA polar-orbiting satellite (Suomi NPP) and the last of the previous generation (NOAA-19).

The VIIRS sensor on Suomi NPP is much more advanced than the AVHRR sensor on NOAA-19. Using imagery from VIIRS, highly detailed, true color representations of Earth can be developed, whereas the AVHRR sensor is missing some key sensor channels to develop true color composites. Instead, less realistic false-color composites can be generated. The resolution on VIIRS is also at 1 pixel per 750 meters for such composites, as opposed to 1 pixel per 1 km on AVHRR.

However, it is the high resolution infrared and visible channels on VIIRS that show tremendous improvement over AVHRR. Whereas the moderate resolution channels on VIIRS are at 750 meter resolution, the high resolution channels are at 375 meters per pixel, yielding highly detailed infrared and visible imagery. The more intense areas of Tropical Storm Debby, associated with higher cloud tops, are very apparent in the VIIRS imagery, but AVHRR’s lower resolution cannot detect these features.

Tropical Storm Debby Stalled Over the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Tropical Storm Debby is the earliest 4th storm in the historical records, surpassing Hurricane Dennis from the infamous 2005 season, which became a tropical storm on July 5th. Debby's satellite presentation is unimpressive and is located north of the area of maximum oceanic heat content, but as long as the cyclone remains over water and is able to regenerate some deep convection there is a potential for at least slight re-intensification. This image was taken by GOES East at 1345Z on June 25, 2012.

For the most up-to-date GOES imagery, please visit the Lab's real-time GOES page.

Before and After Satellite Imagery of Duluth Flooding

Satellite imagery shows the before (June 12, 2012) and after (June 21, 2012) impact of the flooding in and around Duluth, MN. Although the 250 meters per pixel resolution of the NASA MODIS sensor is not high enough to see the impact on the town, the resulting runoff from the St. Louis River into Lake Superior is quite evident. Brown, muddy discharge can be seen in the areas along the shore of the western tip of Lake Superior after the area received up to 10” of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. No fatalities have been reported from this severe weather.

Hurricane Chris first Hurricane of the 2012 Season

Chris has maintained its eye this morning and the satellite signature has improved. Winds are estimated at 65 knots, making Chris the first hurricane of the 2012 Hurricane Season. Gradual weakening is still forecast as Chris moves over cooler waters. This image was taken by GOES East at 1515Z on June 21, 2012.

Excessive Heat Likely for Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Desert Southwest

Heat from the midwest will spread east to the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions, where high temperatures today and Thursday are forecast to range between 95 and 100 degrees, with heat index values exceeding 100 degrees for several metropolitan areas, including New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Heat Advisories and Excessive Heat Warnings have been posted from Virginia to Maine. Meanwhile, hot, but dry, conditions are expected across the Desert Southwest, where high temperatures of 110 to 115 degrees are forecast through Friday. Excessive Heat Watches and Warnings are in effect for parts of the region. This image shows the maximum temperatures for the land surface above 90 degrees Fahrenheit from the North American Model, June 20 through June 23, 2012.

Chance of Tropical Cyclone Formation in the Northwest Atlantic

A well-defined non-tropical area of low pressure located about 300 miles northeast of Bermuda is producing gale-force winds and scattered showers and thunderstorms. This system could gradually acquire subtropical cyclone characteristics as it moves northeastward at around 10 mph over the next couple of days. This system has a medium chance, 30%, of becoming a subtropical or tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours. This image was taken by GOES East at 1415Z on June 18, 2012.

Hurricane Carlotta Heads for Mexico

Hurricane Carlotta (shown here in an image from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite on June 15, 2012) is approaching the Mexican Pacific coastline with sustained winds of 80 mph. The National Hurricane Center predicts landfall to occur around 5 am PDT about 150 miles east of Alcapulco. The storm is expected to linger over the Mexican coast until at least Wednesday before dissipating. Because of the stationary nature of Carlotta, extremely heavy rains are expected for the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca.

May Global Temperatures Second Warmest on Record

According to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, the globally-averaged temperature for May 2012 marked the second warmest May since record keeping began in 1880. May 2012 also marks the 36th consecutive May and 327th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.

Most areas of the world experienced much warmer-than-average monthly temperatures, including nearly all of Europe, Asia, northern Africa, most of North America and southern Greenland. Only Australia, Alaska and parts of the western U.S.-Canadian border region were notably cooler than average.

With the dissipation of La Niña in April, ocean conditions in May were neutral. According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, there is a 50-percent chance that El Niño conditions will emerge during the second half of 2012.

Tropical Storm Guchol Intensifies in the Pacific

Tropical Storm Guchol is located 550 miles southwest of Guam and heading on a northwesterly course with maximum sustained winds of around 51 mph. Over the next 72 hours the storm is expected to intensify to a Category 2 typhoon with sustained winds of 98 mph and gusts up to 120 mph. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has forecast a track that takes the storm east of the Philippines, gradually turning north. The current forecast could put it on track to impact Japan next week.

Guchol is shown here in both visible and colorized infrared imagery from the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite taken on June 13, 2012 at 03:40 UTC. The global coverage provided by Suomi NPP is critical in providing weather monitoring and modeling capabilities for the U.S. Navy and Air Force, especially, whose operations put assets well outside the coverage of NOAA’s geostationary satellites.

A full resolution, 375 meter per pixel image is available here (File size is 16 MB).

Satellite Image of Colorado High Park Fire

Fifteen miles west of Fort Collins, CO, a massive wildfire burns uncontrolled. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that over 20,000 acres have burned since the fire started on June 9th, and has increased 567% in size from Sunday to Monday. One reason for this increase is the high amount of grass, brush, and trees that are fueling the fire. On June 10th at around 20:00 UTC, the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP passed over the fire, shown here. The VIIRS sensor can use its many visible and infrared channels to differentiate between surface types. In this image, not only are the active fire areas and smoke visible, but also the different surface classifications. Vegetated areas are colored in shades of green: dark green are forested areas, bright green are grasslands. Blue areas are the snow-covered mountain peaks. Areas without vegetation (e.g., bare soil, urban areas) are colored in purple. Because the infrared sensors on VIIRS can detect the actual fire hotspots, those are visible as bright red-orange areas surrounding the smoke plume.

Learn more about how satellites detect fires here.

World Oceans Day: A More Colorful Ocean

June 8, 2012 is World Oceans Day - celebrating the importance of the ocean in all of our lives, but also appreciating our impact on it. The significance of the ocean cannot be overstated; it drives many of the physical and biological processes on Earth. The cornerstone of healthy ocean ecosystems are the microscopic chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton that generate around half of the oxygen on Earth and serve as the base of the food chain for almost all other mammals, fish and invertebrates inhabiting the seas.

NOAA is preparing for a new capability in its ability to monitor ocean productivity and chlorophyll concentration with the launch of the Suomi NPP satellite and transition of the ocean color products from the VIIRS sensor into operations. Suomi NPP continues and improves upon the legacy of the OrbView SeaWiFS and NASA Aqua satellites in monitoring global chlorophyll concentration. This image, using preliminary data, shows the May 2012 average global chlorophyll concentration. The yellow/green areas, typically found in along the coast near river inputs, are the areas of highest chlorophyll concentration and productivity. Darker blue areas have few nutrients, lower densities of phytoplankton, and thus lower chlorophyll concentrations. Black areas are “no data” areas due to cloud cover or no light (i.e., the poles).

Though Suomi NPP VIIRS ocean color data is still in a checkout phase, it is anticipated to go operational in the next few months, and will be available through NOAA CoastWatch.

NOAA Satellite Captures Venus Transit

The NOAA GOES satellites are most commonly associated with the non-stop coverage of severe weather over the western hemisphere. However, one of the sensors on-board the GOES spacecraft, the Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI), points towards the Sun, providing constant monitoring of space weather, especially solar flares. On June 5th, the GOES-15 SXI captured the transit of Venus across the Sun. It can be seen in this animation as a small dark spot that crosses from left to right. The next transit of Venus visible by Earth will occur in 2117.

NOAA Satellite Captures Venus Transit

The NOAA GOES satellites are most commonly associated with the non-stop coverage of severe weather over the western hemisphere. However, one of the sensors on-board the GOES spacecraft, the Solar X-Ray Imager (SXI), points towards the Sun, providing constant monitoring of space weather, especial solar flares. On June 5th, the GOES-15 SXI captured the transit of Venus across the Sun. It can be seen in this animation as a small dark spot that crosses from left to right. The next transit of Venus visible by Earth will occur in 2117.

Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire in New Mexico

The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire is up to 259,025 acres burned. Aerial ignitions along multiple portions of the fire boundary were carried out yesterday, June 4, 2012. This image was taken by the VIIRS instrument aboard the Suomi NPP spacecraft at 2015Z on June 4, 2012. The image combines high resolution bands 3, 2 and 1 to make the colored land areas and clouds. Bands 3 and 2 were also combined to highlight the burn scar in dark maroon, and moderate resolution channel 13 provided the data for the hotspots, shown in red and white on the periphery of the burn scars.

Polar-orbiting satellites track the subtle changes in the environment that can trigger potentially deadly weather conditions, from tornadoes to tropical storms. The next generation satellites such as Suomi NPP and the future Joint Polar Satellite System will provide critical data to weather models and forecasters to help maintain the accuracy and reliability of today's weather forecasts and outlooks. Imagery and data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products.

The Northeast U.S. at Night

From Chicago to New York and Toronto to Richmond, the nighttime lights of North America can be seen in this image, acquired by the NOAA-NASA NPP satellite's VIIRS day-night band sensor on May 20, 2012. Most satellite-based imagers require daylight to reflect off Earth’s surface and into the detector, forming an image much like a camera. Otherwise they rely on thermal detection of features, such as cold cloud tops. The day-night band on VIIRS can detect many surface and cloud features without sunlight reflectance. It has a much higher sensitivity to light emitted from the surface, such as reflected moonlight or surface generated light (e.g., urban areas, wildfires, aurora). Differing amounts of moonlight will affect the sensor sensitivity, and thus the features that are seen in the imagery change from night to night. Clouds are not seen in this image because the moon was in a “new” phase, and no moonlight was available to reflect off of clouds, although GOES infrared imagery from the same time shows both high and low level clouds in the same area.

The day-night capability of VIIRS is a continuation of the OLS sensor on the DMSP satellite, and is primarily intended to capture detailed cloud, snow, and ice information during nighttime hours. Prior to 1973, the nighttime lights imagery was classified by the military, but since then the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center has been processing the imagery to examine population and urbanization changes around the planet, along with assisting in identifying electrical power blackouts in the U.S.

Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire Sets Records

The Whitewater-Baldy complex fire encompasses 172,000 acres, making it the largest fire on record in New Mexico and the largest recorded for the month of May. The fire has continued to spread in all directions as it remains active over 95% of the perimeter. Firefighters are working on the line around the fire to provide the buffer needed to minimize the spread. Burnout operations on the north side of the fire along Forest Road 141 have cooled off enough to allow crews to mop up hot spots. Crews continued to clear vegetation from previous burnout operations on the northern and western flanks to create a larger fire break around the fire’s edge. Structure protection continues in Mogollon, Willow Creek and near other ranches and homes. The fire continued to be very active in pockets with extreme fire behavior of running, torching and spotting. Severe fire and weather has been observed for seven of the last eight days. Weather conditions remain dry, hot and unstable. Mandatory evacuations of Mogollon and Willow Creek have been called. This image was taken at 1730Z by TERRA MODIS on May 30, 2012.

20 Years Later: Hurricane Andrew's Winds Still Amaze

As the official start of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season approaches, we take a look back at the first named storm of the 1992 season: Hurricane Andrew. Up to that point, 1992 was a dull hurricane season. It wasn't until August 17th that Andrew became a named storm, and on August 22nd it became a major threat, rapidly forming a compact eye and reaching hurricane status. On August 24th it made landfall nine miles north of Homestead. A post-event analysis by the National Hurricane Center and the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory estimated the maximum sustained winds to be 165 mph at landfall.

Using data from the NOAA AOML Hurricane Research Division’s surface wind analysis, the wind speeds at landfall (August 24, 1992 at 0900z) are plotted here in 10 mph increments. This analysis combines wind measurements from all available surface weather observation platforms, along with satellite and aircraft reconnaissance. The effect of land on hurricane intensity is clearly visible in this image: wind speeds markedly decline as they move on land and almost instantaneously increase as they move back over water (e.g., the Florida Bay). At 165 mph, Andrew became the third Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. It still ranks as the 5th costliest Atlantic U.S. landfalling hurricane and the 4th strongest by lowest central pressure measurement.

Tropical Depression Beryl Brings Rain to the Coast

Tropical Depression Beryl maintains a persistent circulation and a well defined convective curved band to the south and southeast of the center. Not much change in intensity is expected today, but there is an opportunity for Beryl to regain tropical storm strength as the circulation moves over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Although the official forecast shows a tropical storm centered very near the North Carolina coast in 36 hours, it is expected that tropical storm force winds will stay off shore. This image was taken by GOES East at 1315Z on May 29, 2012.

Hurricane Bud Approaches Landfall in Mexico

NOAA GOES-East satellite imagery from 1345z on May 25, 2012 shows the center of circulation just 110 miles off the Mexican coast. The National Hurricane Center predicts landfall will occur around 5am PDT on Saturday as a tropical storm. Bud weakened from a Category 3 to Category 2 hurricane overnight.

Whitewater and Baldy Fires Merge in the Gila Wilderness

The Whitewater Fire burning in the Gila Wilderness has now merged with the Baldy Fire, creating the Whitewater-Baldy Complex. Seen in this close up, the fire is burning through heavy timber, downed logs, brush and dead grass and smoke is becoming more concentrated in a region seeing 4-7% humidity. The burn area has increased to 15,000 acres today, May 24, 2012, a 146% increase from yesterday. The fire is 0% contained. This image was taken by MODIS AQUA on May 23, 2012. Bright red areas are hotspots where the fire is burning actively, and maroon areas are scars from previous burning.

Hurricane Bud Threatens Mexican Coast

Hurricane Bud, currently 280 miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, is continuing to intensify as it moves northeast towards land with sustained winds of 105 mph. The storm is predicted to intensify for the next 12-24 hours before encountering shear and reversing direction before the eye makes landfall. However, heavy rains and winds are expected to pound the Mexican coast over the next couple days.

This image was acquired by the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite's VIIRS infrared sensor at around 0900z on May 24, 2012. Convective cloud tops almost completely surrounding a small central eye are visible in this image. The infrared imagery measure cloud top temperatures. In this image, the coldest, highest cloud tops are colored dark orange. These areas of very high convection are associated with the strongest winds and rain.

Fires in Arizona and New Mexico Attest to Critical Fire Weather Conditions

A large area in the U.S. southwest including all of New Mexico, most of Arizona and parts of Texas, California, Nevada, Colorado and Utah have been designated Critical or Extremely Critical Fire Weather areas. A combination of very strong winds, very low relative humidity and severe to extreme drought in many locations are keeping fire fighters busy throughout the region. The Baldy Fire in New Mexico has consumed 6100 acres so far, a 53% increase from yesterday, while the Gladiator Fire has burned 15,622 acres and the Sunflower Fire has consumed 16,175 acres. This image was taken by TERRA MODIS on May 22, 2012. Frequency band 7 in the red channel shows hotspots in orange, and in combination with band 2 in the green channel shows burn scars in red, while healthy vegetation presents as vibrant green. Band 1 in the blue channel shows clouds and smoke.

Dry Conditions and Winds Create Critical Fire Weather in the Southwest

The Southwest U.S. and Mexico have been coping with extreme fire weather conditions for the past week. In fact, NOAA's satellites have recorded over 7,800 fire targets in the last 7 days (though this number is an over-estimation of the actual number of fires since multiple satellites may count the same target). The infrared sensors on the GOES and POES satellites can detect the heat signatures associated with wildfires. Setting up these hazardous conditions have been extremely low levels of precipitation the past month, creating very dry conditions, combined with high winds out of the dry desert areas of the southwest. This image shows the average predicted soil moisture and winds from May 22-24, 2012, using the NOAA North America Model. Prevailing Winds from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific converge over the Chihuahuan Desert along the U.S. – Mexico border, fanning the pre-existing fires in those areas. The largest of these fires called the “Gladiator Fire,” just north of Phoenix, has burned over 15,000 acres.

Historic Tropical Storm Bud Forms in the Pacific

Tropical Storm Bud has formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This is the earliest date on record for the second tropical storm formation in the east Pacific. Although easterly shear continues to affect Bud, upper-level winds are expected to be more conducive for strengthening in a couple of days to hurricane status. Although forecast trends depict a weaker cyclone staying off the coast of Mexico, effects of the storm could still be felt along coastal areas of Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on May 22, 2012.

Tropical Storm Alberto Moves Slowly Off the Carolinas

Tropical Storm Alberto has changed little in intensity since becoming the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season on Saturday. Wind shear appears to be affecting the storm, as it is taking on an elongated shape, visible in this image from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite taken on March 21, 2012 at 1845z. The National Hurricane Center predicts that the storm may dissipate within the next 48-72 hours.

A Colorful Ocean

The average chlorophyll concentration during April 2012 is shown here using data acquired from the MODIS sensor on board the NASA Aqua satellite. Phytoplankton blooms can be seen all along the coastline of North and South America, and are monitored by NOAA for use in determining productive fishing grounds, managing coastal ecosystems, and identifying potential human health impacts from harmful algal blooms.

Satellite Launch Improves Global Water Cycle Monitoring

On May 18, 2012 at 1:40am JST, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched its newest polar-orbiting satellite into space. GCOM-W1, nicknamed "SHIZUKU" (or "water drop"), is intended to provide global monitoring of Earth's water cycle. On board is the AMSR-2 sensor that continues the legacy of the AMSR-E sensor flown on NASA's Aqua satellite. AMSR detects microwave energy emitted by the planet, which is very sensitive to changes in water concentration, density, and heat. AMSR-2 will improve NOAA's current monitoring of atmospheric moisture, precipitation, sea ice, temperature, and many other variables.

Shown here is a plot of soil moisture, acquired from the NASA AMSR-E satellite sensor from September 28 – October 2, 2011. Satellite-based soil moisture products, such as those from AMSR-E and the Suomi NPP ATMS sensor, are critical tools for both monitoring and predicting drought patterns across the globe.

Peering Inside Tropical Storm Aletta

Tropical Storm Aletta formed on May 15, 2012, becoming the first tropical cyclone to be tracked by the National Hurricane Center during the 2012 season. A Northeast Pacific storm, Aletta is south of the Baja Peninsula and heading west with no threat to the mainland. The recently launched Suomi NPP satellite, operated by NOAA and NASA, flew over the storm on May 15th, providing a glimpse inside the storm. The satellite's ATMS sensor can detect subtle differences in moisture using microwave energy, allowing it to “see” through the cloud tops. Whereas the more commonly used infrared satellite imagery from same time show high clouds tops, but an otherwise unorganized system, ATMS microwave imagery shows an area of circulation in the middle of the storm, indicative of a cyclone. The ATMS is an advancement over the previous AMSU microwave sensors that NOAA has flown on its polar-orbiting satellites, providing higher resolution, more channels, and fewer gaps between orbits, allowing meteorologists to more accurately dissect severe weather systems.

In this image, areas of higher “brightness temperature” correspond with areas of high moisture in the atmosphere. The low moisture area associated with the center of circulation (which may later form into an “eye”) can be seen as the dark circular feature. The “no data” flanking both sides is due to the fact that Suomi NPP orbits around the poles, collecting data in swaths, and those areas were outside of that particular coverage swath. Data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products. Suomi NPP was launched last year in preparation for NOAA's next generation JPSS series of satellites.

Nation's Newest Weather Satellite Captures Glimpse of 1st 2012 Tropical Storm

After officially becoming the first named storm of the 2012 Pacific Hurricane Season on May 15, 2012, Tropical Storm Aletta was observed by the nation's newest weather satellite, the Suomi NPP (a NOAA-NASA partnership), at around 8:30z. Seen here in 350 meter resolution VIIRS infrared imagery are the overshooting tops associated with the most intense areas of convention in the storm (colored dark orange). TS Aletta currently has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is moving due west in the Eastern Pacific.

Data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products.

NOAA Climate Analysis: April 2012 was 5th Warmest on Record

The average global land and ocean temperature for April 2012 was the fifth warmest since record keeping began in 1881, as noted in the NOAA National Climatic Center's latest analysis. As shown in the image, most of the globe’s land areas experienced warmer-than-average temperatures, resulting in the second warmest April land temperature, behind 2007. Meanwhile, the April 2012 global oceans ranked as the 11th warmest on record. The Arctic sea ice extent during April was the highest average April sea ice extent since 2001. Additionally, La Niña dissipated and transitioned to neutral conditions during April as sea surface temperatures continued to warm across the equatorial Pacific Ocean. According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, neutral conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Tropical Depression ONE-E in the Pacific Ocean

The first tropical depression of the 2012 eastern north Pacific Hurricane Season has formed ahead of the official season start date. The disturbance several hundred miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico has gradually acquired more organization and over night an Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) pass aboard the EUMETSAT Metop-A satellite indicated a well-defined surface circulation. Environmental conditions are conducive for some additional development over the next couple of days, but after that global models forecast a substantial increase in westerly vertical wind shear, leading to dissipation in 2 to 3 days. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on May 14, 2012.

Drought Persists in Texas, Southeastern States

The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook (lower right image) for May 3 – July 31, 2012 is based on short-, medium-, and long-range forecasts, initial conditions, and climatology. Since the release of the previous Drought Outlook issued on April 19, 2012, a slight expansion of drought occurred in the Tennessee Valley and lower Ohio Valley while drought conditions intensified across the interior Southeast. In contrast, drought improvement is noted across southern New England and southeast Florida. Since precipitation signals are weak on the seasonal time scale, this outlook is based primarily on short to medium range forecasts and climatology. Some improvement is forecast along the East Coast with improvement most likely across the south-central Florida peninsula. The protracted drought across Georgia and South Carolina is expected to persist. Persistence is also forecast in northeast Minnesota, but prospects for improvement increase farther south in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. Some improvement can be expected across the drought areas of the central and southern high Plains, while drought is expected to persist or expand across parts of the West along with western and south-central Texas.

The U.S. Drought Monitor for the week ending May 8, 2012 (upper left image) shows exceptional drought in west Texas and Florida, Georgia, southeastern Alabama and southwestern South Carolina.

Reductions in the coverage of exceptional (D4) and extreme (D3) drought were made across western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Rains this week were not exceptional, but a recent wet pattern has helped to alleviate some of the dryness across that region. Heavy rains across central Texas, occurring right up to the data-cutoff, prompted improvements there, but poor groundwater storage and slowly responding reservoir levels continue to mitigate the recovery, so the only modest reductions in coverage were indicated.

A plume of tropical moisture moved northward across the Gulf of Mexico and brought heavy rains to portions of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and western Georgia. The rains prompted some trimming of each drought level across southwestern Alabama and extreme western Florida. Extreme drought was removed from Okaloosa and Santa Rosa Counties in Florida, and along the I-65 corridor, north of Mobile. As a result of isolated convective rains (1.0 - 2.4 inches), reductions in the coverage of drought conditions were also pursued across west-central Georgia and eastern Alabama. Across northeastern Florida, the rains missed the areas already under severe or extreme drought, so D4 (exceptional drought) was expanded to cover Saint Johns county. Additional expansion of D3 (extreme drought) was included over Flagler County.

Rain and Thunderstorms in Texas

Heavy rainfall and flash floods are possible today across central and southern Texas. Several inches of rainfall are expected, which could lead to flooding of urban areas and small creeks. Meanwhile, severe thunderstorms are possible across southern Texas, with large hail, damaging winds and weak tornadoes possible. This image was taken by GOES East at 1315Z on May 10, 2012.

Rain on the East Coast and Texas

A cold front slowly pushing into the eastern U.S. will keep weather unsettled from the Gulf Coast to New England. Heavy rains with embedded thunderstorms are expected to continue across Texas. Weather will remain quiet underneath an upper ridge expanding from California eastward over the great basin, and northward into the northwest territories of Canada. This image was taken by GOES East at 1815Z on May 8, 2012.

Few 20th Century April Heat Records Remain

After a decade of warmer than average Aprils in the U.S., few highest monthly maximum temperature records for April remain from the 20th Century. This image plots the decade in which the highest average April temperature record was set for different regions of the country, starting in 1911 (i.e., 1911-1920) and running through 2010, using data from the NOAA National Climatic Center’s detailed archives. The records broken in 2011 and 2012 are shown separately. Most of the pixel colors are associated with the 2001-2010, 2011 and 2012 time periods. Gray indicates no data (records) are associated with that area of the country.

For a movie, please see the link below for Download High Resolution Version.

Much of the Western U.S. Experience the Warmest April on Record

Over 300 locations in the U.S. had a daily warm temperature which was the warmest on record for April, according to data from the NOAA National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). Not only were many monthly records broken, but many of them were broken by a large margin – well over 1 degree Fahrenheit. Plotted in this image are the locations of the broken records for the highest monthly maximum temperature during April, along with shades of red indicating by how much the record was broken. Many of these records were concentrated in the Rocky Mountains and Southern Plains. Texas alone accounted for over 50 of these records. To note: for highly populated areas, there may be more than one automated surface observation station (ASOS) whose values are averaged to form a single grid point (pixel). The final statistics on the April 2012 U.S. climate analysis will be released by NCDC in the first week of May.

Storms in the Gulf Feed Off Warm Loop Current

The Loop Current, as seen in NOAA's Daily 5 km resolution sea surface temperature product, is providing fuel for convection today west of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. The NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory's Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential map of the Gulf of Mexico shows the cyclone potential beginning to build in the area between the Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba, trailing into the Gulf. This image was taken by GOES East at 1645Z on May 3, 2012.

An Even Closer Look at Ocean Temperatures

After the sun, the ocean is the most important driver of weather and climate on the planet – it transports heat across latitudes and depths, exchanges moisture with the atmosphere, and its climatic cycles affect weather patterns around the world. The ocean is home to 50% of life on Earth, and over half of humans live within 35 miles of its coast. This week, NOAA has taken one step closer to a better understanding of our ocean’s dynamics. Researchers in NOAA Satellite and Information Service have developed and put into operations a daily 5 kilometer resolution sea surface temperature product – the highest resolution, global, cloud-cleared, real-time analysis of the ocean temperature thus far. The 5 km product replaces the 13 km product developed just four years ago. This particular dataset combines measurements from the NOAA GOES and POES, EUMETSAT Meteosat-9 and Metop-A, and JMA MTSAT satellites, and uses an improved series of equations to reduce the noise and improve the spatial accuracy over other SST measurements.

Shown here is the blended SST product for May 2, 2012, along with detailed insets showing the Gulf Stream Current (top), Kuroshio Current (middle), and the Malvinas Current (bottom). A full resolution rendering of the data can be seen here.

Clouds and Dust in Africa

Overshooting cloud tops can be seen in the bottom right of this image from the Meteosat-9 geostationary satellite, which provides coverage over Western Europe, Africa, and the Eastern Atlantic. Convective storms that form in Africa can seed the development of tropical disturbances as they move across the continent and pick up energy from the tropical waters of the Atlantic. Also visible in this image are dust plumes blowing off of the African coast. These dust storms may interact with the convective cells, acting to break up the further intensification of storms out to sea. The 2012 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins in one month on June 1st. NOAA’s outlook for the season will be released at the end of this month.

Anniversary of the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 Tornado

Early in the evening of April 27, 2011, The GOES East satellite took this picture, mid-way through the life of a particularly long-lived supercell thunderstorm. The storm began in Newton County Mississippi at 2:54 pm CDT and dissipated in Macon County North Carolina around 10:18 pm CDT. This supercell existed for about 7 hours and 24 minutes, traveled approximately 380 miles and produced several strong to violent tornadoes along the way. One of the tornadoes is now known as the Tuscaloosa-Birmingham EF-4 Tornado.

This tornado initially touched down in rural northern Greene County and moved northeast through southern Tuscaloosa and western Jefferson Counties, where it caused devastating damage consistent with a violent EF4 rating to portions of the city of Tuscaloosa and western suburbs of Birmingham, before it lifted northeast of downtown Birmingham. The tornado caused damage along a path 80.68 miles long and 2600 yards wide in places, winds howling up to 190 mph. Many people lost their lives.

NOAA and FEMA are partnering together this week to highlight the first-ever National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. As part of NOAA’s campaign to Build a Weather-Ready Nation, this week is all about what you can do to take a stand against severe weather. Being a force of nature means never bowing to extreme weather. It means taking appropriate actions before, during and after extreme weather strikes by knowing your risk, having a plan, building a kit and staying informed via a NOAA Weather Radio. It also means being connected to family, friends and neighbors and inspiring them to act.

Last year during this week, storms raked the central and southern United States, spawning more than 300 tornadoes, claiming hundreds of lives and ranking as one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. As the nation marks the first anniversary of that historic outbreak, we’re asking each person across the country to “Be a Force of Nature” by knowing the risk, taking action and being an example.

This image was taken by GOES East at 2215Z on April 27, 2011.

Severe Thunderstorms Possible from the U.S. Mid-South to the Atlantic Coast

The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of far north Georgia, western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, southeast Tennessee and far southwest Virginia. Hail to 1 inch diameter, thunderstorm wind gusts to 70 mph and dangerous lightning are possible in these areas. A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements and possible warnings. Severe thunderstorms ca and occasionally do produce tornadoes. This image was taken by GOES East at 1345Z on April 26, 2012.

Air Quality in the United States

Many factors affect air quality: wind direction and speed, fossil fuel combustion or other anthropogenic inputs, wildfires, natural chemical interactions in the atmosphere, etc. Short-term spikes in air pollutants may affect those with breathing difficulties (such as high smog or ozone), but long-term exposure to degraded air quality affects everyone. The American Lung Association has released a report that compiles data associated with the EPA and NOAA’s efforts to monitor and model air quality in the U.S. In general, conditions have improved across the U.S. over the past years, an improvement attributed to the Clean Air Act and individual efforts to reduce emissions. However, about 41% of the nation are still exposed to air quality levels that may be dangerous to breathe. NOAA’s observations and models are key to providing local authorities the information they require to issue air quality alerts.

Shown here are two outputs from NOAA’s air quality forecasts for daily smoke and ozone concentration. These models rely heavily on the ability of the GOES satellite to detect low-level ozone, smoke, dust, aerosols, and other particles using its visible and infrared sensors. Each image shows the maximum expected values for April 26, 2012.

Storm Leaves Snow Across Northeast

As a Nor'easter blew across the U.S., a rare late spring snow was brought to the Northeast. Up to one foot of snow fell in parts of Pennsylvania and New York, with lesser amounts in West Virginia and Maryland. Shown here is NOAA's snow depth analysis for April 24, 2012, using data from ground sensors and gauges, satellite, and aircraft reconnaissance (where available).

Animation of April 2012 Nor'easter Storm

A Nor’easter storm is bringing heavy rains and snow to many parts of the Northeast U.S. The system developed as a large front moved across the U.S. on Friday, combining with a smaller convective system off the coast of Florida. As this system moved north, it intensified and drew in cold air from the Great Lakes region. Lake–effect snows of up to 12-18 inches have fallen in the higher elevations of West Virginia through New York. Winter storm warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for these areas. This time-lapse animation uses infrared imagery from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite to track the storms’ movement from April 20-23, 2012. Nor’easters are most commonly associated with winter storms, but can occur at any time of the year.

Animation of April 2012 Nor'easter Storm

A Nor’easter storm is bringing heavy rains and snow to many parts of the Northeast U.S. The system developed as a large front moved across the U.S. on Friday, combining with a smaller convective system off the coast of Florida. As this system moved north, it intensified and drew in cold air from the Great Lakes region. Lake –effect snows of up to 12-18 inches have fallen in the higher elevations of West Virginia through New York. Winter storm warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for these areas. This time-lapse animation uses infrared imagery from the NOAA GOES-13 satellite to track the storms’ movement from April 20-23, 2012. Nor’easters are most commonly associated with winter storms, but can occur at any time of the year.

A Rainy Weekend for Much of the Eastern U.S.

Two weather systems are moving across the U.S. (seen here in this GOES-13 image taken on April 20th at 1345z)and bringing with them rains for much of the U.S...and possibly even snow. The broad system moving through the Mississippi Valley has the potential to bring snow the parts of Wisconsin as it moves eastward. The second system, off the coast of Florida, will move northwards over the weekend. As it does so, up to 5" of rain may fall in parts of New Jersey though Massachusetts. Low pressure from this system may also drive lake-effect snows into the western parts of Maryland through New York.

Disaster Managers in Mexico Keep Eyes on Popocatepetl

The National Center for Disaster Prevention in Mexico is raising alerts around the Popocatepetl Volcano southeast of Mexico City. The 5,450 meter volcano has released plumes of water vapor and ash in recent days amid a series of earthquakes and the Center has issued warnings to keep at least 7 miles away from the volcano's crater. NOAA's Volcanic Ash Advisory from April 16, 2012 states, "For several days a plume of strong sulfur dioxide content has been moving east from the summit and dissipating around 80 nautical miles downwind."

This image was taken by the Suomi NPP satellite VIIRS instrument at 2025Z on April 16, 2012. The next generation satellites such as Suomi NPP and the future Joint Polar Satellite System will provide critical data to weather models and forecasters to help maintain the accuracy and reliability of today's weather forecasts, outlooks and volcanic ash monitoring. Imagery and data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products.

March global temperatures were coolest since 1999

The average global temperature for March 2012 made it the coolest March since 1999, yet the 16th warmest since record keeping began in 1880. Arctic sea ice extent during the month was below average but was the largest extent since 2008 and one of the largest March extents of the past decade. Additionally, La Niña conditions continued to weaken during March as temperatures across the equatorial Pacific Ocean warmed during the last two months. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, La Niña is expected to dissipate by the end of April 2012.

"Significant Outbreak of Strong to Violent Tornadoes"

From NOAA's National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center Public Severe Weather Outlook on April 14, 2012: "The NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, is forecasting the development of several strong to violent long-track tornadoes over parts of the central and southern Plains this afternoon and tonight. The areas most likely to experience this activity include:

Central and eastern Kansas

Central and Eastern Nebraska

Central and north-central Oklahoma

"Elsewhere, severe storms are also possible from north Texas to Iowa and southeast South Dakota and southern Minnesota.

"A warm and humid air mass will expand northward from Oklahoma to Kansas and Nebraska today in advance of a potent storm system. Multiple rounds of dangerous, severe thunderstorms are expected to impact the central and southern Plains this afternoon into tonight. Thunderstorms over parts of western Kansas into Nebraska are expected to intensify through this afternoon as they move northeastward/eastward. Additional intense storms are expected to develop near a surface low in central Nebraska this afternoon, and southward along the west edge of the humid air mass into central Kansas and western Oklahoma. Strong winds throughout the atmosphere will be very favorable for powerful supercell thunderstorms capable of producing strong to violent tornadoes as well as very large hail over long paths from this afternoon until at least midnight. Fast-moving tornadoes continuing after dark will heighten the risk to life and property. Some of the larger cities that may be affected include Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, as well as Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"State and local emergency managers are monitoring this potentially very dangerous situation. Those in the threatened area are urged to review severe weather safety rules and to listen to radio, television and NOAA Weather radio for possible watches, warnings and statements throughout the day." This image was taken by GOES East at 2045Z on April 14, 2012.

Conditions Resolving for Severe Weather

The NWS Storm Prediction Center is forecasting an increasing threat for severe thunderstorms across the central and southern Plains, with a Slight Risk this afternoon into tonight from northern Texas to Missouri. SPC cautions that any surface-based storm which does develop would be likely to rapidly organize into a large supercell storm.

The threat increases significantly on Saturday, with a High Risk of severe thunderstorms across parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. Moderate and Slight Risk areas surround the High Risk area for Saturday and stretch from extreme southwestern Minnesota to central Texas. A tornado outbreak will be likely across the central and southern plains from late Saturday afternoon lasting through the evening and into the overnight period. This image was taken by GOES East at 1845Z on April 13, 2012.

Severe Weather Potential Building Through the Plains

A trough of low pressure between two high pressure systems is driving two different air masses together, causing them to meet over the Central Plains. Dry air from over the Mojave Dessert meets with moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Where they meet creates ideal conditions for convective thunderstorm activity. This image, using NOAA’s North America Model data output averaged from April 12-16, 2012, shows in shades of pink the areas with the highest convective available potential energy, an indicator of instability in the atmosphere or, in other words, areas in the atmosphere where the conditions are most favorable for the formation of severe storms.

Overlaid are the average wind directions for the same time period. The streamlines coming out of the central high pressure off of North Carolina can be seen sweeping into the Gulf of Mexico, picking up the highly energetic, moist air, and moving northward into the Plains. As the air moves north, is met on the west side of the front by the dry air from the Rockies. This area of confluence is under watch by the Storm Prediction Center and NOAA Satellite Analysis Branch as areas where severe storms, hail, and tornadoes may possibly form over the next few days, with the highest potential occurring on April 14th.

Wildfires Continue to Burn in Florida

For the past three days, a fire has raged along the Florida - Georgia border. The fires have spread over 14,000 acres in Columbia County, which is about 25 miles north of Lake City. Caused by lightning strikes associated with a storm system that moved through the area on April 6th, the blaze is still only about 20% contained. High winds and dry conditions are exacerbating the spread. No rain is expected in the area for the next week, though air quality conditions are expected to be impacted for much of northern Florida.

Elsewhere, the NOAA Storm Prediction Center has issued critical fire weather outlooks for parts of the Rockies, western Texas and the eastern Carolinas over the next few days.

This image, taken by the NASA Terra satellite on April 10, 2012, shows the extent of the smoke over northern Florida. NOAA's Satellite Analysis Branch uses the high resolution imagery and sensors from NASA's Terra and Aqua, along with data from the GOES, POES, Metop, and Suomi NPP satellites to monitor fire weather across the United States.

Over 15,000 Records Broken as March 2012 Becomes Warmest on Record

According to NOAA scientists at the National Climatic Data Center, record and near-record breaking temperatures dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation and contributed to the warmest March on record for the contiguous United States, a record that dates back to 1895. This animation shows the locations of each of the 7,755 daytime and 7,517 nighttime records (or tied records) in sequence over the 31 days in March.

Over 15,000 Records Broken as March 2012 Becomes Warmest on Record

Snow Across the Northern Rockies into Northern High Plains

A strong late season winter storm will continue to ramp up today over the Northern Rockies before the main low heads north of the border. Significant snowfall and strong winds will likely result in blizzard conditions later today and continue into the overnight hours, with the worst conditions mainly confined to the Northern Rockies. Even so, there could be a period of hazardous conditions on the adjacent High Plains as the system pulls out. Over a foot of snow is expected along the higher terrain of Montana and blizzard conditions will be possible even at lower elevations where snow will combine with strong winds to make for whiteout conditions northwest of the low track. This image was taken by GOES West at 1630Z on April 6, 2012.

Cold Snap to Hit the Northeast

Record warm temperatures throughout March prompted an early spring for many plants in the Northeast U.S. However, as a cold snap moves through the region today and into tonight (April 5-6, 2012), there is the potential for freeze and frost conditions, especially in upstate New York, New Hampshire, and Maine, where temperatures will dip down to around 22 degrees Fahrenheit. This image shows the estimated minimum temperatures for the region overnight from April 5-6, 2012, using the NOAA North American Model output from 12:00 GMT. Areas below the freezing mark of 32 degrees are colored in shades of blue.

Tornadoes Rake Northeastern Texas

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center received 18 tornado reports from the outbreak of severe weather that tore through northeast Texas on April 3, 2012. This image shows a map of areas with high rotational velocity using data from NOAA’s network of NEXRAD radar installations, processed by the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Okla. By examining these images, we can determine approximately where supercells with strong rotation tracked, some of which produced tornadoes. Some of these supercells had rotational velocity up to 180 mph, and so their signature stands out from the surrounding storm areas – and it is these features that are watched carefully for possible tornado outbreaks.

Tornadoes Touch Down in Texas

From the National Weather Service Fort Worth, Texas: "Severe thunderstorms containing very large hail, damaging winds and frequent cloud to ground lightning are continuing across the eastern two-thirds of north Texas. Strong tornadoes are possible with discrete supercell thunderstorms that occur out ahead of the main line of the storms. Greatest threat for discrete supercells will be along and east of Interstate 35. Storms are expected to end from west to east late this evening." Multiple news services are reporting tornadoes touching down and causing heavy damage in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This image was taken by GOES East at 1915Z on April 3, 2012.

Cyclone Daphne in the South Pacific

Cyclone Daphne passed between New Caledonia and Fiji on April 2, 2012 heading southeast into the South Pacific Ocean. The Fiji Meteorological Service RSMC - Nadi Tropical Cyclone Centre reported that while the center of the cyclone remained southwest of Nadi, heavy rain and gale force winds are prompting severe flooding of major rivers, streams and low lying areas in the Western Division of the island. Tiny, volcanic Raoul Island is outlined on the image just west of the circulation. This image was taken by GOES West at 0300Z on April 3, 2012.

Heavy Rains Swamp Pacific Northwest

Over a week of steady rains have deluged many parts of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Though this region is accustomed to heavy springtime rains - typically averaging 5-10" during March - this year has brought higher than normal precipitation amounts. Some areas are over 8" above normal precipitation for March, as shown in this map which compares March 2012 precipitation to the average amount received during March between 1971 and 2000. Rainfall totals used in the analysis come from a suite of observations including radars, rain gauges, and satellite estimates.

Ivan Csiszar - On Detecting Fires Using Satellites

Ivan Csiszar, a physical scientist with the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research, discusses how the satellites are used to detect wildfires across the globe. Not only can satellites detect the location of fires, but also how they spread over time. The background image uses color enhancements of Landsat satellite imagery of the 2009 Los Angeles Station Fire to show how satellite sensors can distinguish between fire targets (bright yellow), burned areas (brown), unburned areas (green), and even populated areas (purple).

Ivan Csiszar - On Detecting Fires Using Satellites

The Salty Atlantic vs. the Fresh Pacific

Though the average salt concentration of the ocean is around 35 parts per thousand, there is a lot of variability in salinity from basin to basin and across time and space. Shown here is a model of surface salinity generated by the NOAA Environmental Modeling Center. Visible are the differences between salinity in the Western Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific. This variation in surface salinity arises from differing freshwater inputs and evaporation within the respective basins. Fresh water evaporates from the warm tropical waters of the Atlantic and is transported through the atmosphere as water vapor, eventually precipitating in the Pacific. The large moisture plumes in the Pacific are also carried northward via atmospheric rivers. Because the California Current (along the U.S. west coast) is bringing cold water down from the north, it is not subject to as much evaporation as the warm waters carried northward by the Gulf Stream along the east coast. Coastal river input also drives down surface salinity – which can be seen in off Washington, parts of the Mid-Atlantic, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Comparing Global Vegetation in 2011 and 2012

Using the normalized vegetation difference index, a measure of the greenness of the planet, its possible to compare the onset of springtime from one year to another. In this image, the week of March 24, 2012 is compared to 2011. Areas that are greener in 2012 than 2011 are colored green, areas less green than 2011 are colored in brown. A full global rendering can be seen here. While the Northeast U.S. bloomed early this year, droughts in the Southeast are creating conditions less favorable for vegetative growth. Much of Europe is far behind in the relative greenness compared to 2011. The Horn of Africa, having received more fall rains than in 2011 is fairing much better and thus their drought outlook is not as severe as in the previous year.

Wildfires Across the U.S. Plains and South

Active wildfires can be seen in this image using data from NOAA's satellite-based Fire Hazard Mapping System. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center is also monitoring many areas of the U.S. Plains, which are under critical to extreme fire weather advisories. The thermal detectors on NOAA's satellites provide pinpoint identification and mapping of wildfires in even the most remote areas.

GOES-15 Resumes GOES West Schedule

On March 21, 2012, GOES-15's on-board diagnostics detected a problem and the satellite promptly put itself in safe mode. Shortly thereafter, NOAA Satellite Operations directed GOES-13 to begin full disk coverage every half hour to maintain an eye on the west coast as recovery plans for GOES-15 commenced.

NOAA's satellites provide the bulk of the information for generating weather models, advisories, and warnings to the nation and world. Maintaining the operations and data acquisition from these satellites is a 24/7 process. NOAA Satellite Operations monitors the health and status of the Nation's environmental satellites and responds quickly with in-depth assessment of satellite and ground system anomalies.

Diagnosing and fixing a spacecraft 22,300 miles from the nearest screwdriver takes meticulous contingency planning during the design phase and a dedicated staff committed to comprehensive training during the operational life of a satellite. The resiliency of NOAA's satellite systems also rests on overlapping missions and spacecraft capable of covering the workload of its partners.

GOES-15 is now back in operational mode supporting the weather community. This image, the first after GOES West coverage was restored, was taken at 1730Z on March 23, 2012.

Warm Temperatures Cause Rapid Snow Melt in New England

The rapid arrival of springtime temperatures throughout New England is causing an equally rapid melt of the snowpack throughout the Adirondack Mountains in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This image shows the total snow melt from March 1-21, 2012, using data from the NOAA National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center.

Persistent Low Moving Into the Northern Plains

An upper level low moving from the Southern to Northern Plains will bring widespread precipitation across much of the central U.S. Heavy rains with embedded thunderstorms will continue to develop ahead and along the associated cold front. The heaviest rains are expected over the Lower to Mid-Mississippi Valley. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on March 21, 2012.

Tim Schmit - On the Evolution of the GOES Satellites

Tim Schmit, a research scientist with the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research based at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, discusses how the GOES satellite has evolved over the years from a simple camera in space to a complex suite of sensors for monitoring severe weather and forecasting weather conditions.

Tim Schmit - On the Evolution of the GOES Satellites

Widespread Severe Thunderstorms Expected Over The Southern Plains

The NOAA National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, OK, is forecasting the development of widespread, damaging winds, very large hail and tornadoes over parts of the southern plains today and tonight, March 19. The areas most likely to experience this activity include far southwest Arkansas, southeast Oklahoma and central into northeast Texas.

A powerful upper-level storm system over the inter-mountain west will shift eastward into the great plains today in conjunction with a surface cold front. A line of severe thunderstorms has developed since early this morning ahead of the cold front, and these storms are expected to continue across parts of Oklahoma and northern/western Texas with associated threats for damaging winds and large hail.

To the south of this thunderstorm activity, the interaction of moist and moderately unstable air mass with strong low and upper-level jet stream winds will create an environment favorable for intense thunderstorms, including supercells, across parts of central and northern Texas into southeast Oklahoma later today. Latest weather model data indicate that multiple waves of thunderstorms will be possible from this afternoon through tonight across this geographical area. Very large hail to baseball size or larger and widespread, damaging winds appear likely, along with the potential for a few tornadoes. This image was taken by GOES East at 1545Z on March 19, 2012.

Heat Records Fall Across the Country

Over the past week, much of the U.S. felt an early arrival of springtime temperatures. Over the 7 day period from March 9-15, 2012 2,441 heat records fell across the country. Nine hundred and ninety nine of those were nighttime high temperatures, and an amazing 1,803 were daytime high temperatures. The relative location and frequency of the record-breaking temperatures are shown in this image, where red colors indicate daytime records and yellows indicate nighttime records. In co-occurring locations, the daytime heat records frequency is shown.

February 2012 Global Climate Analysis

The globe experienced its 22nd warmest February since record keeping began in 1880. Arctic sea ice extent was the fifth lowest extent on record for February at 6.9 percent below average. Additionally, La N ña conditions continued to weaken during February. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, La Niña is expected to dissipate by the end of April.

February 2012 was the coolest February on record since 2008. However, February 2012 also marks the 324th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last month with below average temperatures was February 1985.

This map shows areas that are above or below the average temperature for February. Areas warmer than average are colored red; areas cooler are colored blue.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua Bears Down on Western Australia

The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre, Perth is issuing Flash Tropical Cyclone Advice on Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua. A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal areas from Cape Leveque to Dampier, including Port Hedland, Karratha, Dampier and Broome, as well as inland parts of the eastern Pilbara and far western Kimberley, including Telfer, Newman and Jigalong. A Cyclone WATCH is current for parts of the central and eastern inland Pilbara, the eastern Gascoyne, far northern Goldfields and the far western Interior including Three Rivers, Meekatharra and Wiluna. Destructive winds to 160 kilometres per hour are possible between Port Hedland and Bidyadanga after sunrise Saturday extending to the inland eastern Pilbara later in the day. Very Destructive winds up to 230 kilometres per hour are forecast near the cyclone centre. This image was taken by MTSAT-2R at 0830Z on March 16, 2012.

Tropical Cyclone Lua Sets Sights on Port Hedland, Australia

Tropical Cyclone Lua in the Indian Ocean should complete its loop to the east and consolidate into a well-defined low-level circulation center. Lua is expected to move southeast over the next few days and make landfall in Australia just east of Port Hedland on the west coast of Western Australia near 0600Z on March 17 with winds sustained near 80 knots, gusting to 100 knots with significant forward speed. This image was taken by MTSAT-2R at 0530Z on March 15, 2012.

Strong Winds and Heavy Snows for Western Washington

A front is moving into western Washington state today bringing strong and potentially damaging winds to the coast and north interior. Very high surf of 25 to 30 feet will affect the coast. Windy conditions are expected across all of western Washington. Heavy snows are expected in the mountains with up to one and a half feet possible by the end of the day. This image was taken by GOES West at 1830Z on March 12, 2012.

Heavy Rains Across Southern U.S.

Over the past two days, parts of the South have been deluged by a stalled system that has brought up to 7" of rain to the area. Locations with the highest rainfall totals appear in blue in this image, which uses data from the NOAA Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service for March 7-9, 2012. Heavy precipitation is expected to continue through Saturday in this area before pushing east.

NOAA Satellite Operations

The Nation runs on NOAA satellites.

NOAA's satellites provide the bulk of the information for generating weather models, advisories, and warnings to the nation and world. Maintaining the operations and data acquisition from these satellites is a 24/7 process. This video was filmed at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland along with the Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station where the satellite command, control, and data distribution systems are located.

NOAA Satellite Operations

The Nation runs on NOAA satellites.

NOAA's satellites provide the bulk of the information for generating weather models, advisories, and warnings to the nation and world. Maintaining the operations and data acquisition from these satellites is a 24/7 process. This video was filmed at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland along with the Wallops Command and Data Acquisition center where the satellite command, control, and data distribution systems are located.

Solar Storm Eruption: Coronal Mass Ejection Headed for Earth

On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, a large solar flare erupted from the Sun. Data from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center suggest that the coronal mass ejection - the blast of plasma from the Sun’s surface - could reach Earth by early Thursday morning (March 8, 2012).

This animation shows the output from the WSA-Enlil space weather model for solar winds, developed in partnership with NASA and academia and run operationally by NOAA. The white through yellow and orange plumes indicate the density of the coronal mass ejection plasma as it heads towards Earth (orange is the highest density). The sun is centered as an orange circle. The size of Earth is represented in relative scale – a small dot compared to the size of the Sun or the coronal mass ejection.

Geomagnetic storms from these kinds of space weather events can affect the power grid, navigation systems and other technologies. NOAA provides space weather forecasting for the nation, and forecasters at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center are issuing updates regularly. The impressive flare from Tuesday evening and a corresponding radiation storm are already triggering high-frequency radio outages at Earth's poles, which could last a day or more, and possible temporary outages on parts of the day-lit Earth.

Hear the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center’s Robert Rutledge describe the different kinds of space weather in his “Big Picture” segment linked here.

Solar Storm Eruption: Coronal Mass Ejection Headed for Earth

Hear the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center’s Robert Rutledge describe the different kinds of space weather in his “Big Picture” segment linked here.

NPP VIIRS image of the March 2, 2012 Midwest Tornados

This image from the Suomi NPP VIIRS instrument shows the overshooting cloud tops and intense storms associated with the devastating tornado outbreak in the evening of March 2 and morning of March 3. The imagery was acquired between 1751Z and 1758Z on March 2, 2012 over Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Current operational POES data was critical for issuing watches and advisories days in advance of this outbreak.

Polar-orbiting satellites track the subtle changes in the environment that can trigger potentially deadly weather conditions, from tornadoes to tropical storms. The next generation satellites such as Suomi NPP and the future Joint Polar Satellite System will provide critical data to weather models and forecasters to help maintain the accuracy and reliability of today's weather forecasts and outlooks. Imagery and data from Suomi NPP is still undergoing quality assurance processes and are not yet operational products.

More Severe Weather May Affect U.S. Tomorrow

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center is keeping an eye on a system that is anticipated to produce some potentially severe weather later in the day on Friday, March 2, 2012. Shown here is the North American Model output for March 3, 2012, at 0z (7:00 p.m. EST on March 2). There is a high probability of thunderstorm activity stretching along a belt from the Gulf of Mexico through Ohio. SPC’s Day 2 Convective Outlook for March 2, 2012 (issued on March 1), indicates a moderate risk of convective activity (i.e., thunderstorms development, with strong winds and possible hail and tornadoes) from for Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Though the term “moderate risk” may not seem all that worrisome, such advisories from SPC are quite strong and should be taken with great care.

NOAA Radar Tracks Tornadoes in Midwest

NOAA's NEXRAD system of radars deployed throughout the United States provide meteorologists the most up-to-date information on the ground regarding severe weather, especially when it comes to identifying potential tornado outbreaks. By analyzing both the rotational velocity of the storm systems (the spinning of tornadoes has high rotational velocity compared to the surrounding storms) and presence of hail, scientists at the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory have developed a product that approximates the track of tornadoes, shown here for the February 29, 2012 storms in Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas. At least four people have been killed and many others injured as these storms swept through the Midwest early in the morning. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center has issued advisories for Tennessee and the surrounding areas for the remainder of the day. Although the tracks shown in this image are not actual confirmed ground tracks, they are helpful in identifying features associated with tornadoes, preparing communities for such potentially deadly outbreaks, and emergency response once a severe weather outbreak has passed.

Wet Weather Envelops the Eastern U.S.

From the Carolinas to Pennsylvania, clear skies dominate the Appalachian and Eastern U.S. Only a few tufts of cloud can be seen in southwestern Virginia from this GOES-13 image taken on February 28, 2012 at 1545z. However, these sunny conditions will not last long. A large belt of moisture is sweeping across the U.S., currently bringing a mix of snow and rain to the Plains. The system is expected to move eastward, bringing precipitation to large parts of the country over the next 48 hours.

High Winds Creating Fire Hazards in the Southwest

The NOAA Storm Prediction Center has issued critical fire weather alerts for many areas in the southwestern U.S. from Arizona through Kansas. High winds are generating extremely dry conditions, ripe for wildfire outbreaks and rapid spreading. This image shows the maximum sustained wind speeds expected over the next 24 hours (starting 1800z on February 27, 2012) using output from the NOAA North American Model.

Tornado Watches for most of Virginia and North Carolina

Thunderstorms are beginning to form over Virginia and North Carolina as winds pick up speed. Wind Advisories are posted throughout the region along with Severe Storm and Tornado Watches. Gusts over 45 miles per hour during the evening will make movement difficult in northeast Virginia and Maryland. This image was taken by GOES East at 1915Z on February 24, 2012.

Severe Weather Possible from Mid-Atlantic to Florida Panhandle

Severe thunderstorms are possible from the eastern Gulf of Mexico region to the mid-Atlantic coast today. A band of very strong jet stream winds associated with the disturbance now over Illinois will sweep east-northeast across the central and southern Appalachians later today and off the mid-Atlantic coast tonight as the associated surface low intensifies over the lower Great Lakes. The cold front trailing southwest from the low will accelerate east across the Appalachians later today, serving as a focus for thunderstorm development in the unusually warm and increasingly humid air ahead of the front from Alabama and Georgia to the Chesapeake Bay region. Other storms may form east of the front as daytime heating further enhances instability. The combination of increasing warmth and moisture beneath strengthening winds in the low to mid troposphere will be favorable for bands and clusters of thunderstorms that could produce swaths of damaging wind and possibly a few tornadoes. This threat should be greatest during the mid to late afternoon from parts of South Carolina northward into Virginia, but more isolated severe storms could occur from parts of Mississippi, Alabama, north Florida and Georgia to parts of Maryland and Delaware. The storms and their associated severe threat should diminish early tonight as the front moves off the mid and south Atlantic coast. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on February 24, 2012.

Storm in the Mediterranean Captured by POES Satellite

The cyclonic, counter-clockwise spin of a low pressure system over the Mediterranean Sea can be seen in this image from the NOAA-19 AVHRR satellite sensor taken on February 23, 2012 at 1218z. This system has brought up to 4" of rain over the last 24 hours to coastal areas in Europe and Africa. NOAA-19 is the last of the POES line of polar-orbiting satellites run by NOAA. Its successor, the Suomi NPP satellite, was launched late last year and is currently undergoing its check-out phase as the sensors are gradually turned on.

Algal Blooms in Lake Erie

Algae bloom and churn in Lake Erie, shown in this image from the NASA Terra satellite’s MODIS sensor taken on February 20, 2012. Many of the greenish colors in the Lake are associated with algal blooms, whereas the murky yellow/brown colors are probably associated more with sediment input from the river mouth to the west. NOAA is engaged in monitoring phytoplankton levels in the Lake along with assessing whether these blooms are harmful to human and fish species, especially since these winter blooms in Lake Erie may trigger impacts much later in the year. Nutrient input into Lake Erie is magnified due to its relatively shallow depth, making ideal conditions for phytoplankton blooms. However, as winter turns into spring and summer, the waters warm and the phytoplankton die, the bacteria involved in decaying the phytoplankton shells consume large amounts of oxygen in the Lake, creating hypoxic “dead zones.”

Surface algae are especially apparent this year, as most of Lake Erie never froze over – a stark contrast to the ice conditions of last year. Algae-rich waters can also be seen flowing along the Niagara River into Lake Ontario, which is otherwise mostly devoid of large algal blooms. Blooms in Lake Ontario are mostly constrained to the shallow coastal areas near the Niagara input, as opposed to the deep offshore zones.

Measuring the Ocean's Heat Energy

The National Oceanographic Data Center has updated their ocean heat and salinity data products to include data from 2011. Shown here are comparison images from 1970 and 2011 for global ocean heat content (OHC) between the surface and 700 meters (2,296 ft) depth. The OHC analysis uses data from ships and buoys to estimate the total amount of heat energy contained in the ocean. Because this is an integrated measure of heat energy, joules are used as the unit. Since 1955, the global ocean heat content has increased at a rate of about 4x10²¹ joules per year. That increase is equal to about 1x10¹⁵ kilowatt-hours of energy. The U.S. Dept. of Energy estimates that the average U.S. household uses 1x10⁴ kilowatt-hours per year, which means that the ocean gains the equivalent of 8x the amount of energy necessary to power all U.S. households per year (not including the energy at depths greater than 700 meters).

Hurricane-Strength Storm Over Alaska

The Bering Sea is known for its strong winter storms, bringing high seas and heavy precipitation to areas from Alaska to the Northwest U.S. One such storm is captured here in this image using the NOAA AVHRR sensor on the Metop-A satellite, taken on February 14, 2012 at 0700z. The polar orbit of Metop-A, a NOAA partnership with the European Space Agency to provide operational weather satellite coverage, is particularly important for monitoring such systems in the high latitudes where coverage from the GOES satellite is limited. The data from Metop-A are used in NOAA weather models, such as the output of mean sea level pressure from the NOAA North America Model. This image for February 14th at 1200z shows the extremely low pressure for of the storm. The central pressure is estimated at 952 millibars. To put it into context, Hurricane Irene reached 942 millibars at its maximum strength with 120 mph winds. Lower central pressures are indicative of more intense storms with higher wind speeds.

AVHRR

Wintry Mix Expected Across the U.S.

Scattered snow showers are in the forecast over the central Plains and mid-Mississippi Valley today. Mostly light snow will limit accumulations expected across the region; however, heavy snow is possible in some areas, especially across Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Hazardous conditions could develop to the south of the snow, across portions of the central and lower Mississippi Valley, where periods of sleet and freezing rain are likely. This image was taken by GOES East at 1745Z on February 13, 2012.

One-Two Snow Punch for the U.S.

This merged GOES East and West visible image shows the two distinct weather systems predicted to bring snow and other precipitation to much of the U.S. over the weekend. The first system is currently moving on-shore from the Pacific and will likely generate snow throughout the Rockies. The second system is moving up from the Gulf of Mexico across the eastern U.S. While areas south of the Appalachians will see heavy rains, areas north of the mountains may see winter weather over the weekend - with the heaviest snows concentrated around the Ohio River Valley.

Satellites Monitor La Niña in the Pacific

NOAA's POES satellites measure the temperature of the ocean surface - one of the primary indicators of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (the climate cycle that changes between El Niño and La Niña every few years). This time-series shows the evolution of the most recent La Niña, which is currently weakening in intensity.

Satellites Monitor La Niña in the Pacific

U.S. in for a Dry Spring Season

The NOAA Climate Prediction Center released its drought outlook for February - April 30, 2012 last week, and the outlook is not good for much of the southern and western U.S. Shown in this color-coded map, much of the bottom half of the U.S. will experience persistent or intensifying drought conditions. The lower than normal snow pack throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota will also create drought conditions in these areas - a welcomed reprieve from last year's record Missouri and Mississippi River floods, but bad news for farmers in the Plains. Only small parts of Oregon and Washington are expected to improve from their current drought conditions. There is still no relief in sight for Texas, which has been plagued by its worst drought in history for more than a year now.

Dust Storms Reach Across the Atlantic Ocean

Dust blowing southwestward this morning off the African coast from Mauritania forms vortexes around the Canary Islands. This image was taken by GOES East at 1445Z on February 7, 2012.

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine Strengthening near New Caledonia

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine is strengthening in the Coral Sea west of New Caledonia, on course eastward to pass north of Grande Terre on Tuesday. Winds are expected to be near 80 knots sustained as the storm tracks very close to Tafea Province. This image was taken by MTSAT-2R at 0630Z on February 6, 2012.

Three Storm Systems Tracked by GOES Satellite

Merging both GOES East and West imagery, three weather systems are shown spanning the U.S. To the far west, a stationary system is currently dumping up to two feet of snow over the Denver region. In the South and Plains, a line of severe storms stretches from Texas to Missouri. Over the Atlantic the remnants of an extratropical storm move out to sea. Data from the GOES-15 and -13 satellites were acquired on February 3, 2012 at 1715z.

The Groundhog Says 6 More Weeks of Winter, But What Does NOAA Predict?

Although Punxsutawney Phil has arguable climate forecasting skill, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center usually fares far better in seasonal outlooks. On January 19, 2012, they issued the February-April seasonal outlook for precipitation and temperature. Whereby the groundhog predicts 6 more weeks of winter (generally speaking), the CPC temperature outlook shows much of the southern U.S. in warmer than normal conditions. The shades of color indicate the percent chance that the area will be warmer than normal. Gray areas indicate equal chances that the area will be warmer or cooler than normal. Only the northwestern U.S. shows any major likelihood of being colder than normal.

Unseasonably Warm Temperatures Across Most of the U.S.

On the last day of January, many people throughout the U.S. are enjoying unusually warm temperatures. Shown in this image, using data from today's NOAA Rapid Update Cycle model, are the high temperatures across the U.S. Many areas are experiencing temperatures well above 50 or 60 degrees Fahrenheit, even in far northern locales.

Cyclone Iggy Churns off the West Coast of Australia

Tropical Cyclone Iggy, located approximately 215 nautical miles west-northwest of Learmonth, Australia, has tracked south-southwestward at 6 knots over the past few hours. A developing subtropical ridge may move Iggy to the east over the next day or so, into an area of increasing sea surface temperatures. The intensity may increase in response, but only for 24 hours or so as the seas surface temperatures quickly decrease after that. This image is from MTSAT-2R at 0730Z on January 30, 2012.