Utilization of GOES-16 Imagery in Forecast Operations in the Great Basin and Desert Southwest at the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Las Vegas, Nevada

The Great Basin and Desert Southwest presents many forecast challenges to the operational meteorologist. These challenges include radar coverage limitations, surface observation limitations, the predominance of pulse convection, as well as convectively and synoptically driven winds that provide significant operational impacts. The availability of satellite data from the recently launched GOES-16 satellite has provided imagery at increased horizontal and temporal resolution as well as the availability of new satellite channels and baseline products. This presentation will demonstrate how this new satellite data can be utilized in a variety of ways in the Great Basin and Desert Southwest.

Specifically, both 5-minute CONUS imagery and 1-minute mesoscale sector imagery can be utilized to show how both visible (visible and near-IR channels) and IR imagery can be applied in the warning decision making process in areas with limited to no radar coverage. Various satellite channels and RGB products will be employed to demonstrate how the satellite data can be utilized in detecting both synoptically and convectively driven areas of blowing dust and sand. Additionally, various channels will be used to illustrate how the GOES-16 data can aid with warning decision making during “conventional” severe weather forecast operations in conjunction with traditional radar and surface observations.