Watching Supercells Grow
Supercell development over south Texas, 4-28-2021 (credit: NOAA)
How fast can a super-cell develop? Surprisingly fast in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Francine grew from a tropical depression to a full hurricane in less than 2 days once it crossed into the Gulf. Early reports mention more than 12 inches of rain was dumped on the region of low-lying regions of Louisiana including New Orleans. The progress of Francine's development was fully monitored and warning forecasts provided to local communities in the storms path.
Hurricane Francine, 9-12-24 (credit: NOAA/GEOS)
The GOES Earth monitoring satellites, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are positioned in stable, geo-synchronized orbits to observe storm threats. Previously, the science agency's remote sensing platform observed a massive supercell develop, grow, and move across the state of Texas. According to the NOAA, supercells are storms containing updrafts that rotate about a central axis. The rotation comes from the environmental "shear force" of the storm's wind field---a change in direction, speed, or height of the wind---surrounding it as the supercell begins to grow. The National Weather Service, part of NOAA, issued severe thunderstorm and tornado alerts across the region as the Francine grew in strength. Early reports mention 6-8 inches of rain was dumped on low-lying regions near Houston and New Orleans.
The GEOS satellite scanned images of the early Texas storm in both infrared and visible light wavelengths which were then combined to create a photo-animation known as a sandwich loop. Such multi-dimensional animations provide meteorologists and climate researchers better tools to identify key aspects of a thunderstorm as it moves and intensifies. GOES satellites carry some of the most advanced remote sensing gear available to track weather as well as measuring environmental factors including temperature, precipitation, pressure, and wind speeds. The complete satellite system now covers most of the continental United States, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, Central and South America, the Atlantic Ocean to West Africa, and the western Pacific Ocean.
As our climate changes, supercells, severe storms, tornadoes, and other weather related outcomes will become both more intense, more common, and more destructive. WHB