Satellite images showed that Hurricane Florence was dangerous long before it landed

Long before Florence began to make its way through the Carolinas, meteorological satellites watched the space to capture detailed images of the storm – now from hurricane to tropical storm – and help meteorologists track its progress. way and its intensity.

Meteorological satellites are operated by the United States and several other countries. But many of Florence's photographs come from Operational Geostationary Operational Satellite 16, or GOES-16, an American satellite that since 2016 has been looking at the surface of the planet from its geosynchronous orbit some 22,000 miles above the equator. (Geosynchronous means that it corresponds to the orbit of the Earth.)

Satellites have transformed the way weather observers and government officials monitor life-threatening storms.

Before the satellites, there was no way to keep up with a storm like Florence, said Chris Knowlton, deputy director of the Rhode Island Indoor Space Center. When a powerful hurricane hit Galveston, Texas in 1900, it became the deadliest natural disaster in American history, killing about 8,000 people "because they did not know it was going to happen," he said. Knowlton.

Thanks in part to satellite data, meteorologists were able to issue detailed warnings about Florence a few days before it reached the mainland and predict with astonishing accuracy where a landing would occur.

"This is one of the best tools we have today," Knowlton said of satellite data. "We can say they will come, where they will land, where people have to evacuate."

The meteorological satellites captured data on Florence while it was still far away in the Atlantic Ocean, before the Earth Weather Radar could follow it or as specialized "Hurricane Hunter" aircraft operated by the National Oceanic. Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can achieve it. Cline, meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center.

"It's a huge help on the ocean. That's how we knew this storm had broken out in Africa, Cline said, adding, "Where you do not have hunters, you tell the ships to leave for their safety."

Knowlton said that GOES-16, which is operated by NASA and NOAA, has "amazing capabilities." It has a much larger image resolution than the previous generation of satellites, and it can better determine how storms form. The most important advance is the speed at which the satellite can take pictures. Knowlton said that GOES-16 can capture images three times faster than its predecessor, GOES-14.

"Have five minutes between the pictures instead of [15] is huge, "he said. You can see it develop features. You can see the wall of the eye dilate or become smaller. "

Meteorological satellites take pictures in broad daylight and, with the aid of infrared cameras, at night. They collect information on the structure and speed of hurricane winds and measure the threat of flash floods when a storm hits the ground. Satellites can also measure the humidity around a storm and even the temperature of ocean waters. "The ocean is the source of heat that drives the engine of the hurricane," Knowlton said.

Florence, who landed in North Carolina on Friday morning, caused widespread flooding and blackouts and was accused of at least six deaths.

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