A strengthening Tropical Storm Harvey approached Texas Gulf coast on 24 August 2017. Harvey initially developed and was named on 17 August in the Atlantic just east of the Lesser Antilles. A couple days later, Harvey weakened to a wave before crossing over the Yucatan Peninsula . After advancing into the Gulf of Mexico on 22 Aug, Harvey strengthened again to a Tropical Storm. On 24 Aug, Harvey is forecast to become a Major Hurricane before making landfall early 26 Aug. Widespread rainfall of 15+” is forecast with this storm as it is not expected to move much after making landfall.
A GOES-16 1-min mesoscale sector was consistently available over Harvey during its life cycle. For tropical cyclones, 1-min imagery has proven to aid in identifying a center of circulation and in tracking thunderstorm evolution.
On 24 August, 30-second imagery (two overlapping 1-min sectors) was requested to track Harvey, providing a rare look at a strengthening tropical system. In Figure 1, a linear, compressed color map is used to capture storm top features.
Figure 1: 24 August 2017 GOES-16 30-sec VIS. Full res: https://satelliteliaisonblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170824_30sec_harvey2.gif
30-sec imagery continued over Harvey during the morning of the 25th as the storm continued to strengthen nearing the Texas Gulf Coast.
Figure 2: 25 August 2017 GOES-16 30-sec VIS of Harvey. Full res: https://satelliteliaisonblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170825_30sec_harvey_am.gif
Harvey made landfall Friday night as a category 4 hurricane.
Saturday morning, Harvey had weakened to a category 1 hurricane, continuing to produce strong winds and heavy rain across a large swath of Texas.
Figure 4: 26 August 2017 IR to VIS transition of Hurricane Harvey. Full res:
By Monday morning, Harvey had not moved much, still dropping heavy rainfall over southeast Texas and now western Louisiana. The GOES-16 IR animation in Figure 5 depicts the hourly evolution of Harvey from 8/22 when it redeveloped in the Gulf to 8/28.
Figure 5: 8/22 – 8/28 GOES-16 10.3 um IR 1-hr imagery. Full resolution: https://satelliteliaisonblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170828_1hr_harvey_long_ir2_small3_anno.gif
On Tuesday, the storm had shifted east, producing heavy rain over the Louisiana/Texas border.
By Thursday, Harvey had weakened to a depression, and continued to slowly shift east into the ArkLaMiss region. The storm maintained its heavy rain threat (WPC high risk) and a tornado risk (SPC slight risk). By early afternoon, a tornado watch and several tornado warnings were in effect from N MS to SW TN. GOES-16 1-min sectors continued to follow the threats associated with Harvey (Fig 6).
Figure 6: 31 August 2017 GOES-16 1-min VIS. Full res: https://satelliteliaisonblog.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/20170831_vis_zoom2.gif
-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.”
Satellite Liaison Blog 
