Surface and Upper-air Analysis with Satellite Imagery

6.7 um water vapor with 400 mb heights

In situ surface and upper-air observations are an integral part of weather analysis. These examples are from the 31 May 1996 convective outbreak in KS, northern TX and eastern CO. The GOES-9 visible image is overlayed with contours of surface dewpoint temperature and wind barbs for the surface wind. The dewpoint contours and wind barbs help identify the north-south dryline in western and northwestern TX where convection is active. The 6.7 um water vapor image from GOES-9 contains contours of 400 mb heights, a height representative of that channel. The contours show a shortwave in the TX panhandle, near the active convection. Since shortwaves between 300 and 400 mb are often visible in loops of 6.7 um images, upper-air analyses can be checked against the satellite imagery for features that are not well represented in the NWS and NCEP analyses.