Use and evaluation of GOES‐R Proving Ground products at WFO Omaha and WFO Milwaukee

Many new satellite products will be coming soon with the launch of the GOES R series of satellites beginning with the first launch just 5 years from now in 2015. Not only will resolution improve, but there will be 3 times as many channels and a host of new derived products. Some of these products have been prototyped using current GOES and Polar Orbiter satellites to help with user readiness.

A small subset of these GOES R Proving Ground products was evaluated in an operational setting at the National Weather Service Warning and Forecast Offices in Milwaukee/Sullivan Wisconsin (MKX) and Omaha/Valley Nebraska (OAX). A formal survey was developed to provide direct feedback to the developers. Products that were evaluated include Convective Initiation, Low Cloud/Fog, and GeoColor imagery. The products were used and evaluated in real-time forecasting situations, along with other traditional satellite imagery.

Results of the evaluations will be presented, including strengths and weaknesses of each product.