The large wildfires out west provide an opportunity to experiment with RGB’s. RGB imagery provides a great opportunity to combine multiple channels or channel differences into one image. Three features unique to wildfires detectable by GOES-16 include the hotspot (3.9 um), smoke (0.47 or 0.64 um), and burn scar (0.86 um). The RGB recipe included in this post is: Red – 3.9 um, Green – 0.86 um, Blue – 0.47 um. In this RGB, hotspots appear red, smoke plumes appear blue/cyan, and burn scars appear dark/brown. Vegetated surfaces appear green and water appears dark. See RGB below along with the 3 individual contributing bands with their color table set to the range included in the RGB. Instead of looking at three different channels to view these three features associated with wildfires, this RGB allows a forecaster to simply view one image.

RGB

Red: 3.9 um

Green: 0.86 um

Blue: 0.47 um

– Bill Line, NWS

“The GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing. Users bear all responsibility for inspecting the data prior to use and for the manner in which the data are utilized.”