The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has shared the first images of the new space probe that monitors lightning. This is a new satellite that captured the terrible lightning activity of two “extremely dangerous” hurricanes.
GOES-19, the newest of NOAA’s four advanced geostationary satellites, continuously detects and maps lightning across the Americas and nearby ocean areas, using a special instrument, the Geostationary Lightning Map Generator (GLM).
With the latest advances, scientists can predict tropical cyclones, including their location, intensity and size.
On September 24, it caught the high activity of one of these natural phenomena when a group of thunderstorms in the western Caribbean Sea became the destructive tropical storm Helene. The footage shows several lightning strikes in the outer water bands and intermittent showers in the storm’s eye area as it rapidly intensifies over the eastern Gulf of Mexico and approaches the Florida coast .
Within two weeks, the satellite again detected widespread thunderstorms as a second powerful hurricane, Milton, formed, producing flash floods and tornadoes across Florida on October 9.
The images also show the problems these weather events have caused to the aviation industry, as hundreds of planes have been scrambled to find safe routes to avoid being caught in the turbulent updrafts and downdrafts. .
“GLM imagery helps pilots and air traffic controllers manage flights to maximize safety and minimize economic impact, including areas over oceans without radar coverage,” a report says. By RT
