Category: Posts EN

GOES-17 Satellite Launch Puts Latest Weather Tech Into Orbit

Written by Team Morecast

The latest in the GOES series of weather satellites, GOES-S, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Thursday. It joins GOES-16 in geostationary orbit, launched in late 2016. GOES-S will be redesignated GOES-17 when it becomes operational later this year. It will serve as NOAA’s GOES West satellite, responsible for covering the U.S. west coast, Hawaii, Alaska, and much of the Pacific Ocean.

The new GOES satellites will be able to collect three times the amount of meteorological data as their predecessors. They’ll also collect the data at four times the spatial resolution, five times as fast! GOES 17 in particular will have critical responsibilities that include monitoring winter storm systems approaching the U.S. and Pacific basin hurricanes. Thermal infrared imagery will help meteorologists spot fires faster (see above – image courtesy CIRA).

One of the most exciting new technologies on board the new GOES satellites is the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). Unlike ground sensor-based lightning detection networks, the GLM will be able to monitor lightning strikes over the ocean. These data could help radically improve forecasts of hurricane strength, for instance. However, it will not be able to distinguish between cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud lightning strikes on its own.

Slow-Moving Storm Producing Torrential Rains across Northern Queensland!

Written by Team Morecast

An upper low drifting slowly across northern Queensland has a history of producing major flooding. As of Saturday morning, it’s still producing heavy rains over western parts of the state. These are less densely populated but more arid areas sensitive to these record rains. Here’s a select list of rainfall totals over the last several days:

 

Queensland Rainfall Totals (since 28-February):

Bluewater: 516 mm

Mt. Margaret: 509 mm

Stony Creek: 441 mm

Deeragun: 420 mm

Pallarenda: 342 mm

Townsville: 263 mm

 

A tap of rich tropical moisture from the Gulf of Carpentaria is to blame for the prolonged heavy rain threat. The upper low is expected to drift slowly and erratically over western Queensland and perhaps eastern Northern Territory, dropping additional heavy rains over the inland deserts through the next several days (see above). It could also help fuel a severe storm threat further southeast later this weekend. Check morecast.com and the Morecast app for the latest forecast details for your location!

 

Nor’Easter Storm Wreaking Havoc From Mid-Atlantic to New England!

Written by Team Morecast

A powerful late-season winter storm spun up quickly off the U.S. Eastern Seaboard late Thursday into Friday, leading to heavy snows over the interior, flooding for the coast, and damaging winds throughout the region. The storm is still pounding portions of the Northeast as of Friday evening but here are a few of the impacts so far:

 

Highest Wind Gusts:

Washington, DC (Dulles): 67 mph (108 kph)

New York, NY (JFK): 63 mph (101 kph)

Providence, RI: 64 mph (103 kph)

Boston, MA: 60 mph (97 kph)

 

Millions have been reported without power thanks to fallen trees and power lines. Major bridges such as the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City have been forced to close. These strong east to northeast winds are also pushing sea water onshore, leading to major surge flooding, especially along the coast of Massachusetts. Very heavy rainfall of up to three inches is contributing to high water issues.

The major cities are just warm enough to be spared snow and ice accumulation. However, interior sections, especially the mountains, are seeing a crippling combination of winds and heavy, wet snow. Storm totals will likely exceed three feet in some areas with prolonged blizzard conditions. In the words of the National Weather Service, this is going to be “one to remember!” Rely on morecast.com and the Morecast app for the latest forecast details for your location!

 

Winter Ends With Record Warmth, Dryness for Southwest & High Plains

Written by Meteo Expert Josef Lukas

Meteorological winter ended this week as February came to a close.

Preliminary data from the Southeast Regional Climate Center shows that across the Southwest U.S. many stations experienced either their warmest or their driest winter on record.

For example, Los Angles International Airport was +2.14 F above average during the December-February period that defines meteorological winter. That value is enough to qualify as the warmest anomaly in the station’s 74 year history. Elsewhere, several other stations in southern California and across the Southwest broke records for winter warmth.

There were no stations in the contiguous U.S. that experienced their coldest winter on record.

Precipitation-wise, record dryness was observed from northeast New Mexico out into central Kansas. It was so dry across portions of southwestern Kansas that Garden City actually went through meteorological winter without recording any measurable precipitation.

To the southeast of the record dryness was a zone of much higher precipitation. Dallas, Texas and areas around Little Rock, Arkansas experienced their wettest winter period on record. Records at these observation station go back 44 years and 42 years, respectively. The stripe of above average precipitation continued northeastward to Pittsburgh, which saw its wettest winter since at least 1948.