The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R platform will offer improved spatial and spectral resolution and temporal sampling, all of which should lead to enhanced capabilities for satellite-based rainfall estimation and nowcasting. The Hydrology Algorithm Team (AT), which is part of the GOES-R Algorithm Working Group (AWG), was formed to guide algorithm development and selection and to produce a recommended set of algorithms for operational production of three GOES-R Environmental Data Records: rainfall rate, rainfall potential, and probability of rainfall.

To leverage the work already done in these areas, the Hydrology AT has been supporting the modification and testing of four existing rainfall estimation algorithms and three existing nowcasting algorithms to take advantage of the new ABI capabilities. Data from the Spinning Enhanced Infrared Visible Imager (SEVIRI) onboard the Meteosat Second Generation (SEVIRI) have been provided to the algorithm developers, along with available ground validation data over Europe and Africa. This development effort is being followed by an evaluation in order to select a rainfall estimation algorithm and a rainfall nowcasting algorithm to be implemented operationally for GOES-R. This presentation will describe this work in greater detail and discuss the next steps for the Hydrology AT.