Rapid Refresh Information of Significant Events: Preparing Users for the Next Generation of Geostationary Operational Satellites

Abstract The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-14 (GOES-14) imager was operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an experimental rapid scan 1-min mode during parts of the summers of 2012 and 2013. This scan mode, known as the super rapid scan operations for GOES-R (SRSOR), emulates the high-temporal-resolution sampling of the mesoscale region scanning of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the next-generation GOES-R series. This paper both introduces these unique datasets and highlights future satellite imager capabilities. Many phenomena were observed from GOES-14, including fog, clouds, severe storms, fires and smoke (including the California Rim Fire), and several tropical cyclones. In 2012 over 6 days of SRSOR data of Hurricane Sandy were acquired. In 2013, the first two days of SRSOR in June observed the propagation and evolution of a mid-Atlantic derecho. The data from August 2013 were unique in that the GOES imager operated in nearly continuous 1-min mode; prior to this time, the 1-min data were interrupted every 3 h for full disk scans. Used in a number of NOAA test beds and operational centers, including NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC), the Aviation Weather Center (AWC), the Ocean Prediction Center (OPC), and the National Hurricane Center (NHC), these experimental data prepare users for the next-generation imager, which will be able to routinely acquire mesoscale (1,000 km × 1,000 km) images every 30 s (or two separate locations every minute). Several animations are included, showcasing the rapid change of the many phenomena observed during SRSOR from the GOES-14 imager.