When it comes to monitoring the earth for dangerous storms, weather satellites are literally the all observing  "EYES IN THE SKY".  While radar usually does not detect a developing thunderstorm until it is producing rain, visible satellite images will show cloud growth during the initial stages of a thunderstorm and provide the first clues as to when and where hazardous weather will occur. Meanwhile infrared satellite images are important in determining storm strength. Usually the strongest and potentially deadliest thunderstorms have clouds which extend as high as 70,000 feet above the earth's surface. Since the air temperature usually decreases with height, the most intense storms often have the coldest cloud tops.  By measuring the temperatures of the cloud-tops, infrared satellites help determine which storms may produce tornadoes, hail and flash flooding.

Another capability of the GOES system is it contains instruments which estimate the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. Meteorologists can use this information to monitor the movement of moisture over their areas of responsibility. This is especially valuable over southern New Mexico and western Texas as it assists forecasters in the prediction of  heavy rain and flash flooding.  In addition, it is useful in tracking storm systems approaching our region from the data-sparse areas of Mexico and the eastern Pacific.

On May 3, 1999 a violent tornado outbreak struck Oklahoma and southern Kansas, killing 48  people and causing 1.2 billion dollars in property damage.  The visible satellite image (bottom left) shows the massive anvil clouds associated with these storms along with the embedded towers or overshooting tops produced by updrafts with  velocities exceeding 80 miles an hour. Concurrently infrared images (bottom right)  depict the cold cloud tops of the storms, evidence of their extreme intensity.