New Satellite Will Help With Weather Forecasting
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — You might have seen the beautiful pictures sent back from NASA's newest satellite GOES-R 16, but do you really understand how this cutting-edge tool can help save your life?
On January 11, an EF-0 tornado ripped right through south Natomas. Thankfully no one was hurt, but there was damage to homes.
Weather radar is the key source for spotting severe storms, but in order to see the full picture, it helps to also use a satellite. Our latest weather satellite just got a big upgrade.
The latest update to satellite GOES-R 16 has allowed us to see the weather a lot better. With it being easier to see, there will be more lives meteorologists can save. This satellite has greater resolution and higher speed. This will allow meteorologists to actually see storms in real time and events as they are occurring. Tornadoes can develop in seconds, and once they hit the ground, can instantly become deadly. Being able to track storms via satellite faster will help meteorologist put together a clearer warning for people in the path of the storm.
GOES-R 16 was launched in November, but not until this week did we get to see its breathtaking pictures of Earth. Different types of clouds mean different intensities in storms, so being able to see cloud cover detail clearer and faster is going to help us warn you about inclement weather quicker. Even being able to see the lack of cloud cover is going to help. Sunshine can be the make-or-break weather component to destabilizing the atmosphere, resulting in severe storms.
The satellite provides images every 30 seconds during a storm, whereas it takes at least five minutes for a radar to scan a storm. With 17 tornado deaths across the country already this year, having this new tool will hopefully keep those numbers down and keep people alive.
