This module in the series on polar satellite meteorology explores two case studies that exploit some of the capabilities of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on the NOAA-15 satellite and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites.

The first case, located over the Pacific Northwest, demonstrates the role of AMSU moisture products within an integrated suite of data and model products using the Advanced Weather and Information Processing System (AWIPS). The case highlights the potential for microwave moisture products to positively impact short-range precipitation forecasts.

The second case, affecting the southeastern U.S., demonstrates the ability of AMSU and SSM/I rainfall products to assess short-range rainfall potential for tropical cyclones. To accomplish this, a technique used to produce the Tropical Rainfall Potential (TRaP) product is applied to Hurricane Georges (September 1998) and validated using storm total (gauge, NEXRAD, and GOES satellite) estimates.

Both cases feature integrated data sets that highlight microwave remote sensing's unique contributions to the forecast process, particularly quantitative precipitation forecasts.

Please Note

In order to maintain consistency between the AWIPS displays and the text discussions, the following units are being used:

• Z (Zulu Time) is being used in place of UTC
• mb (millibars) is being used in place of HPa
• F (Fahrenheit) is being used in the place of C (Celsius) for surface plots
• kts (knots) is being used in place of m/s for surface plots
• in (inches) is being used in place of mm for precipitable water and precipitation amounts
• WV (water vapor) is being used to refer to the 6.7-µm channel