A clear sky, daytime retrieval of low-level precipitable water vapor based on the single-layerapproximation to the radiative transfer equation applied to three longwave window channels is described.The algorithm, which simultaneously retrieves skin temperature and air temperature as well, has theadvantage of using satellite radiances only—no ancillary information is needed. Application of the methodto Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-16 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)radiance observations at 10.3, 11.2 and 12.3 μm demonstrates its utility in monitoring the location of lowlevel water vapor in the warm season, pre-convective atmosphere over the United States. .
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