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Featured News

February 18, 2025

Targeting Winter Weather Hazards with New Satellite Data Products

Two new products developed by STAR's Bill Line help NWS forecasters


Blowing snow and freezing sea spray can now both be monitored by NWS forecasters, addressing two different significant winter weather hazards. Blowing snow creates dangerous driving conditions completely distinct from ongoing snowfall; freezing sea spray can capsize or sink ocean vessels. STAR's Bill Line worked to develop these two data products, using VIIRS data for the sea spray product and GOES imager data to observe blowing snow.

photo credits: NWS Des Moines, left, and NOAA Office of Marine and Aircraft Operations, right

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image on left: Blizzard conditions in rural Iowa [Credit: NWS Des Moines/Mahaska County EMA]; image on right: Ice accumulated on NOAA Ship OSCAR DYSON Photo credits: NOAA Office of Marine and Aircraft Operations
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STAR is Shining!

Tim Schmit being recognized for his long standing support of the GOES program (Photo credit: L. Kline).

STAR Scientist Honored with GOES-R Special Science Award

July 25, 2024 - The NESDIS Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) program presented a special science award to recognize STAR scientist Tim Schmit “for his tireless enthusiasm, dedication, and commitment to geostationary imagery, science, and applications.” Schmit has supported the GOES program for over 37 years spanning from the instruments, simulations, downlink, calibration, re-broadcast, distribution, archive/access, visualization, training/education and product generation, to validations and applications! Schmit responded to receiving the award by stating, “It's been my great honor to help prepare for and check-out the GOES over the decades. This included GOES-8 through GOES-18, and I can't wait for the data from GOES-19.” 

A few days later, on June 25, 2024, NOAA’s GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in the GOES–R Series, successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Schmit and colleagues from STAR and the Cooperative Institutes will generate the first light ABI imagery of which Schmit stated was one of his favorite parts of his job. 

Schmit’s contributions to the GOES series of satellites have truly been end-to-end. He first started in 1987 simulating the GOES-I (8) data and then in 1999, began working on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument on GOES-R. His work on this instrument has been pivotal to the ongoing improvement and success of ABI observations. Along the way, he’s held leadership positions in the Algorithm Working Group (AWG) imagery and soundings teams, has provided amazing ABI images and loops of satellite imagery, and of special note was his expertise in highlighting phenomena including the hugely popular 2024 total solar eclipse

To read more about Tim Schmit’s work with STAR and the GOES program visit his bio.

STAR in the News

photo: Hurricane Francine, September 10, 2024

Tracking Francine’s Latest Path

September 12, 2024 - Bloomberg News reports: Francine is the third named storm to hit the mainland US this year. The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season got off to a quick start, but had stalled in recent weeks before Francine. It has now produced six storms, four of which became hurricanes.

STAR's GOES-East geocolor image of the storm is featured.

Read more in the Bloomberg News storythis link opens in a new window.




photo: Marshall Colorado Wildfire, December 2021

AI and satellite imaging doing early wildfire detection in Colorado

July 30, 2024 - This week the Denver Post reports on a new artificial intelligence program — the Next Generation Fire System — which will help identify wildfires as small as an acre by scanning images taken by weather satellites orbiting about 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface. NOAA officials say it can process the deluge of data from the satellites — which capture images as frequently as every 30 seconds — and detect heat from fires smaller than a football field. The program then flags potential new fires to a dashboard so humans can check the images and verify the existence of a fire.

While humans are great at detecting a new fire from satellite images, they can’t process the firehose of data as quickly and easily as the AI program, said STAR's Mike Pavolonis, NOAA Satellites’ Wildland Fire Program manager.

Read more in the Denver Post storythis link opens in a new window.



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Announcements

image: CEOS logo

STAR Co-hosts 20th CEOS Atmospheric Composition Virtual Constellation Meeting

image: STAR Sea Surface temperature map

New paper - Satellite Oceanography in NOAA by STAR authors highlighting STAR efforts and published 8/1/2024.