Evaluating Operational Applications of Multiple Spectral Bands for the GOES-R Era at the Operations Proving Ground

In the spring of 2016, the National Weather Service (NWS) Operations Proving Ground (OPG) hosted and facilitated an evaluation to assess the operational impact of multiple spectral bands for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Series era. Nine NWS forecasters from five regions completed seven exercises that were developed using imagery from the Himawari-8 Advanced Imager (AHI). Himawari imagery can act as a proxy for the GOES-R imagery due to similarities between the (AHI) and the GOES-R Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI).

The primary goal of the evaluation was to provide guidance to NWS management on which spectral bands and/or multispectral imagery, including Red-Green-Blue (RGB) composites, offer the most operational value in the opinions of participating forecasters. During the exercises, forecasters analyzed and evaluated Himawari imagery for a variety of atmospheric phenomena ranging from mid-latitude cyclone development to monitoring the evolution of wildfires. Each week, feedback from the forecasters was gathered to assess if the satellite imagery may have influenced decision making, if the imagery could provide them with more confidence in making those decisions, and if the forecasters had difficulty assimilating the imagery for operational analyses. Due to the increase in spatial and temporal resolution of satellite data in the GOES-R era, a secondary goal of the evaluation was for forecasters to assess if their analysis of the satellite imagery was adversely impacted due to workstation performance. During the evaluation, forecasters also assessed the usefulness and practical value of having training resources integrated into the AWIPS infrastructure. This presentation will provide a brief overview of the evaluation and a detailed analysis of the forecaster feedback with recommendations on incorporating multiple spectral bands and RGB composites in the GOES-R era.