GOES-R IFR Probability Fields, 0200-1100 UTC on 11 July 2017 (Click to enlarge)

GOES-16 data posted on this page are (still!) preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing

GOES-R IFR Probabilities are computed using Legacy GOES (GOES-13 and GOES-15) and Rapid Refresh model information; GOES-16 data will be incorporated into the IFR Probability algorithm in late 2017

Low ceilings and reduced visibilities developed in and around thunderstorms from Ohio and Michigan into southwestern Ontario, upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania during the morning of 11 July 2017. (Reduced visibilities/lowered ceilings persisted past 15 UTC as shown in this image from here). Regions of IFR conditions over northwestern Pennsylvania are in regions of higher IFR Probability after 0500 UTC (over northwest Pennsylvania) and after 0700 UTC (over much of northern Pennsylvania) that have the characteristic flat field look that comes from having only Rapid Refresh Model output drive the Probability (because high clouds, as might occur downwind of Convection, prevent the satellite from seeing low clouds). GOES-R IFR Probability fields also retain a signal through sunrise, as shown in the this toggle between 1000 UTC and 1100 UTC, two times on either side of the terminator.

Because high clouds inhibit the view of low stratus (and potential fog), products that rely on solely satellite data become ineffectual as a situational awareness tool. Consider the toggle below from 0800 UTC of GOES-R IFR Probabilities, the GOES-16 “Fog Product” Brightness Temperature Difference (10.3 µm – 3.9 µm) and the Advanced Nightime Microphysics RGB (that uses the Brightness Temperature Difference Product as one of its components). IFR Conditions over NW Pennsylvania are not diagnosed by the GOES-16 products that rely on the 10.3 µm – 3.9 µm Brightness Temperature Difference field. Where there is a clear field of view, all three products can highlight IFR conditions (in/around London Ontario, for example). Regions of low stratus — but not fog — are also highlighted over parts of upstate New York by the GOES-16 products. (Similar toggles at 0915 and 1100 UTC are available; note that the signal from GOES-16 becomes weak at 1102 UTC because increasing amounts of solar reflectance change the sign of the 10.3 µm – 3.9 µm Brightness Temperature Difference.

These examples typify why GOES-R IFR Probability fields typically have better statistics as far as IFR detection is concerned: Model data fills in regions where high clouds are present, and model data screens out regions where stratus is highlighted by a Brightness Temperature Difference field, but where fog does not exist.

GOES-R IFR Probabilities (computed using GOES-13 and Rapid Refresh Data), GOES-16 “Fog Product” Brightness Temperature Difference (10.3 µm – 3.9 µm) and the Advanced Nighttime Microphysics RGB, all around 0800 UTC on 11 July 2017 (Click to enlarge)