The Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) from Meteosat-12 provides actual WVT imagery to complement the synthetic WVT imagery created over the CONUS.  The FCI captured a sea breeze over Tunisia and northwestern Libya on June 4.  The moisture moving onshore is marked by the southward moving dark areas denoted by the blue arrows.

Figure 1: FCI WVT image showing a sea breeze over Tunisia and northwestern Libya.

The difference in moisture is also clear when looking at vertical profiles on either side of the sea breeze front (Figs 2 and 3).  The profiles come from the 6hr forecast of the 12z run of the GFS from June 4, 2026.

Figure 2.  Blue and orange dots show approximate location of GFS profiles used to demonstrate the moisture difference across the sea breeze boundary.

Figure 3a. GFS profile in dry air south of the sea breeze front (near orange dot on Figure 2).

Figure 3b. GFS profile in moist air north of the sea breeze front (near blue dot on Figure 2).

One noteworthy aspect of the WVT is that it is not affected by surface or air temperature, something that is an issue when looking at moisture in infrared wavelengths.

Geogxi