CIMSS Satellite Product Workshop in Salt Lake City
On 16-17 February 2011, Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) and Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR) scientists conducted a workshop in Salt Lake City, UT, with staff from the National Weather Service (NWS) Western Region (WR) Headquarters, the NWS Salt Lake City Weather Service Forecast Office (WSFO), and the NWS Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) at the Salt Lake City Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).
Wayne Feltz, Kathy Strabala, and Jordan Gerth (CIMSS), along with Gary S. Wade (STAR/ASPB), presented information on CIMSS products, some of which are already available (via the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Weather Processing System (AWIPS)) with others to be implemented or in development. These products serve to prepare NWS forecasters for day-1 use of future GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite)-R data.
One day of the workshop utilized remote access, via webinar, to include staff from other NWS WR WSFOs as well as other CIMSS and ASPB presenters in Madison, WI (Tim Schmit, Robert Aune, Scott Bachmeier, and Scott Lindstrom). A variety of current GOES data (Imager and Sounder), NASA MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) imagery, and simulated imagery were demonstrated as proxy GOES-R data to be used for forecasting, nearcasting, and aviation applications.
Areas of observational data needs noted by NWS staff were also part of the process, with the intent to gauge where applications from satellite data might be effective.