Some Frequently Overlooked Severe Thunderstorm Characteristics Observed on GOES Imagery: A Topic for Future Research (original) (raw)

2004, Monthly Weather Review

Several examples of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) visible satellite images depicting cloud features often associated with the transition to, or intensification of, supercell thunderstorms are presented. The accompanying discussion describes what is known about these features, and what is left to learn. The examples are presented to increase awareness among meteorologists of these potentially significant storm features. FIG. 1. Schematic diagram of certain aspects of a supercell thunderstorm: (left) idealized, base-reflectivity radar echo, the location of the descending rear-flank downdraft (RFD), the associated cold air at the surface (green), converging low-level inflow streamlines, and quasistationary, storm-related fronts, and (right) visible satellite representation of the same storm showing the overshooting top (OST), aboveanvil cirrus, cumulus congestus above the rear-flank outflow (i.e., the flanking line), lines of towering cumulus over the new or invigorated RFD, and short compact lines of cumulus congestus towers associated with the intense inflow.