The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) is a new imaging instrument planned for deployment onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R generation of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) geostationary weather satellites. Numerous features of this advanced imager should lead to improvements in satellite-based estimation and nowcasting of rainfall, including improved spatial resolution (2 km infrared, as fine as 0.5 km in the visible), and improved temporal sampling (5 km over the continental United States and 15 km full-disk). In addition, the imager will offer 12 spectral bands instead of the current 5, which will allow for a greater exploitation of information on cloud-top phase and cloud-top particle size which can be inferred from differences between channels.

To optimize the preparation of new algorithms that take advantage of the advanced capabilities from GOES-R, the Algorithm Working Group (AWG) was formed to guide algorithm development and selection and to produce a recommended set of algorithms for operational implementation. As part of the AWG, the Hydrology Algorithm Team has been charged with developing three specific algorithms related to precipitation: rainfall rate, rainfall potential, and probability of rainfall. The Hydrology Algorithm Team consists of U.S. Government representatives from both within and outside NOAA along with representatives from academia, and their purpose is to identify, test, and modify candidate algorithms to select the best available for all three products. This presentation will describe ongoing and planned AWG work in greater detail.