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Supercell Storms Produce Spate of Tornadoes

March 26, 2021
GOES East supercell imagery over Alabama and Georgia, in visible/infrared.

The timelapse seen above in our Image of the Day captures the supercell thunderstorms that swept over parts of the landscape of the Deep South on March 25, 2021, showing a full day of activity. This imagery is a combination of three different products--or satellite imagery filters--that show different features of the storm.

It starts with GOES East high-resolution visible imagery, accompanied by Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) data. GLM tracks the intensity and speed of the lightning strikes associated with the storm’s motion. The third product, called a sandwich composite , stacks enhanced infrared with visible channels for multi-dimensional imagery that provides added texture for meteorologists to monitor severe weather in near real-time.

The tornadoes mainly roared across central Alabama and Georgia, causing a wave of destruction. The Birmingham National Weather Service Office reported that one tornado, moving east, reached the speed of 60 miles per hour later that night. In Calhoun Co., Alabama, authorities have so far confirmed five people dead from the tornado activity.

Other types of severe weather occurred as well. Large hail, some as large as golf balls, fell in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee; and the high wind speeds also fell power lines and trees in those states.

The GOES East geostationary satellite, also known as GOES-16, keeps watch over most of North America, including the continental United States and Mexico, as well as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west coast of Africa. The satellite's high-resolution imagery provides optimal viewing of severe weather events, including thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes.

Supplemental information provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies.