Wildfires pose serious hazards to human populations and to natural resources. The GOES satellites provide frequent updates, day or night, based on multispectral imagery. Precipitation Estimates . These estimates, along with qualitative remarks, are sent to National Weather Service field offices to aid in the issuance of watches, warnings, and special weather statements. Tracking Tropical Cyclones .
Tropical storms place thousands of people at risk from flooding, high winds, and tidal surges.
Satellites have significantly improved the lead time for tropical storm forecasting. Monitoring Thunderstorms and Tornadoes . Research over the past decade on the short range forecasting of severe thunderstorms has shown that mesoscale air mass boundaries frequently provide the key ingredient for converting non-severe convection into severe. Detection and monitoring of these small scale boundaries with GOES satellite imagery has increased both the lead-time and accuracy of short range forecasts and warnings.