A Study of Supercell Cloud Top Temperature Signatures from GOES Enhanced Infrared Imagery.

摘要

This thesis investigated a case where enhanced infrared (EIR) imagery provided unique information about convective penetration above the tropopause for a severe weather situation over the central United States. This situation was unique because warm spots appeared over cumulonimbus tops in the GOES EIR imagery (Mills and Astling, 1977). The warm spots corresponded to locations where radar observations indicated intense convection with tropopause penetrating tops had occurred. Generally, one would expect the overshooting tops to appear as cold areas in satellite infrared and enhanced infrared imagery because of moist adiabatic cooling in ascending convective motion. Since GOES imagery is an important tool in severe local storm detection and prediction, and since enhancement of GOES data only became operational in early 1976, this investigation attempts to provide an explanation for the appearance of warm spots. Additionally, situations where warms spots did not occur are discussed.