GOES-R IFR Probabilities (Upper Right), GOES-13 Brightness Temperature Difference (10.7 µm – 3.9 µm) (Upper Left), MODIS IFR Probabilities (Lower Left), Suomi NPP Brightness Temperature Difference (11.35 µm – 3.74 µm) and Day Night Band (Lower Right), all near 0930 UTC 2 September 2014 (Click to enlarge)

GOES-R IFR Probabilities (from GOES and from MODIS) over the Great Plains and southern Rockies indicated one region where IFR conditions were most likely: over the Texas panhandle, where IFR conditions were reported. There is a strong signal in the GOES-based Brightness Temperature Difference field there (and in the Suomi NPP Brightness Temperature Difference field) as well. There is also a Brightness Temperature difference signal in regions where IFR conditions are not occurring; in those locations, stratus is present, or (over the Rockies) emissivity differences in the dry soil are present, both of which conditions will lead to a signal in the brightness temperature difference that is unrelated to surface visibility and ceilings. This is therefore another example showing how incorporation of model data that accurately describes saturation (or near-saturation) in the lowest model layers can help the GOES-R IFR Probability more accurately depict where IFR conditions are present.