Today's severe thunderstorm warnings were preceded by cloud top cooling rates of around 30 degrees Celsuius per 15 minutes -- around 30 minutes before warnings were actually issued!
Here is the time series of cells that developed over Winona County, Minnesota. They produced golf-ball size hail. The panels, from upper left to upper right and lower left to lower right, are: cloud top cooling with visible satellite image background, convective initiation categorical classification with visible satellite image background, IR window satellite image, and radar base reflecitivity.
2002 UTC 4 September 2012
2015 UTC 4 September 2012
2032 UTC 4 September 2012
2015 UTC 4 September 2012
2032 UTC 4 September 2012
2045 UTC 4 September 2012
It was exciting to see the performance of this algorithm in real-time.
J.J. Wood, General Forecaster, Milwaukee/Sullivan WFO
Jordan Gerth, Meteorologist, CIMSS/SSEC Madison, WI