Severe Weather Storm Warnings

A side-by-side comparison of MODIS and GOES images taken over the same area, a four county region in Alabama, on the same day. The MODIS image is much sharper.

The SPoRT project uses data from a sensor called MODIS (MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectrometer), which rides aboard both Terra and Aqua. MODIS picks up between 16 and 100 times more spatial detail than current GOES weather satellites.

Even more importantly, MODIS observes 36 separate frequencies of incoming light, ranging from the visible to the infrared. GOES detects only 5 frequencies. So the MODIS data lets scientists use the power of spectroscopy to distill a wide range of information about the landscape below -- important characteristics such as atmospheric moisture, cloud phase, nighttime fog, and surface temperature.

"Traits of the ground and atmosphere such as temperature or moisture leave their imprint in the spectrum of the light they emit," Jedlovec explains. "Looking at 36 different frequencies in this spectrum is enough to fish out some of these imprints and calculate those physical traits." Using MODIS data, scientists can produce region-wide maps of important weather variables that GOES data can't even discern.

The raw ability to detect these important traits is not enough. The data must be presented to forecasters in a form that actually helps them to make their predictions. If an image shows too little detail, or if it uses confusing coloration, it may not help the forecasters as much as it could. So NASA scientists are collaborating closely with the NWS forecasters to learn exactly what they need.

"The Huntsville office of the NWS shares a building with some of the NASA scientists, so we see each other face-to-face every day," Bradshaw says. "We give them on-going feedback about how well the satellite data aids our forecasts and how it could be better."

Along with the Huntsville office, the NWS offices in Birmingham (Alabama), Nashville (Tennessee), and Jackson (Mississippi) are participating in the SPoRT pilot program. As the program is coming into its third and final year, the leaders plan to expand the program to include the Great Falls (Montana), Mobile (Alabama), Jacksonville (Florida), and Miami offices.