An Update on Uw-cimss Satellite-derived Wind Developments

Several new upgrades have been incorporated into the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (UW-CIMSS) satellite wind retrieval algorithm, which is used by NOAA/NESDIS for operational winds production. These upgrades include cloud masking, dual-pass objective quality control, improved water vapor and visible winds, and height assignment checks. In addition, new processing strategies are being studied including low-level cloud tracer (IR and VIS) retrieval and height assignments (cloud base), and temporal (more frequent) sampling intervals. All of these upgrades and studies are resulting in lower vector errors. Applications and recent model impact studies briefly outlined in this report show these advanced satellite-derived winds are having a notable impact on weather analysis and forecasting.