SPECIAL MESSAGE: GOES-East

GOES-14 is providing GOES-East coverage. GOES-14 is stationary at 105 degrees West with no current plans to drift east. GOES-13 will remain in storage mode while the anomaly is being investigated. There is no estimate on return to operations at this time. More information: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/SATS/messages.html.

GOES Western US SECTOR Infrared Image


Meteorologists use color enhanced imagery as an aid in satellite interpretation. The colors enable them to easily and quickly see features which are of special interest. Usually they look for high clouds or areas with a large amount of water vapor.
In an infrared (IR) image cold clouds are high clouds, so the colors typically highlight the colder regions. The bar on the right side of the image indicates the pixel brightness values for the corresponding color. The temperature can be determined from the following formulas:

For B > 176
T = 418 - B
or when B <=176
T = 330 - (B/2)
Note that the resulting temperatures are in Kelvin.

For IR data, the highest pixel values correspond to the coldest temperatures.
Color Enhanced Image #1 Color Enhanced Image #2 Color Enhanced Image #3 Color Enhanced Image #4
current goes west color enhanced infrared image
Western Conus Sector (IR Ch 4)

Brought to you by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)