Analysis on the Mesoscale Domain Sectors (MDS) using GOES-West - A Study on Fire Weather

The operational GOES-EAST and GOES-WEST imagers each contain two Mesoscale Domain Sectors (MDS) that can be activated upon request to provide 1-minute imagery for significant and critical weather events. Several factors affect the daily movement of the MDS that are in accordance with an activation priority list; Fires are sixth priority. The full cycle of the MDS process will be shown which includes the Mesoscale Mission Viewer (MMV) tool, the NWS Senior Duty Meteorologist, and the Environmental Satellite Processing Center (ESPC). The objectives of this investigation are multifold and include a) Provide a statistical analysis on the MDS coverage for a subset of major wildfires in California, b) Utilize R-programming to display the causes of wildfires using ancillary information from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) data, and c) Spotlight the periods of no full-time MDS coverage over large wildfires. It will be shown that over seventy-five percent of major fires are covered and improvement should be made.