The most advanced weather satellite NOAA has ever developed, GOES-16, will be moved to the GOES-East position, officials announced Thursday during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season outlook news conference.
So, what does that mean?
“GOES-16 will be placed in the east position, where it can observe the entire continental U.S., and monitor areas most vulnerable to tornadoes, floods, land-falling tropical storms, hurricanes and other severe storms,” Dr. Stephen Volz, director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, was quoted as saying in a statement on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s website.
Look at how it collects data and imagery of weather events
GOES stands for geostationary operational environmental satellite. GOES-16 is part of the GOES-R series. Footage from the satellite is shown in the background of this video.
GOES-16 was the country’s newest satellite as of late January. What makes it so revolutionary, is that it takes photos of the weather and the Earth in high detail, at four times the image resolution of existing spacecraft, according to USA Today, saying the NOAA referred to this as "high-definition from the heavens.”
And why does the satellite matter? Well, it helps you know what the weather will be like, it gets better data faster than ever before, and it keeps the electricity flowing, to name a few reasons. The NOAA has provided six on its website, if you'd like to learn more.
The satellite will be moved once it’s declared operational in November.
Visit NOAA.gov for more information on GOES-16’s placement.
An above-average hurricane season is in store, forecasters also said Thursday as they updated their outlook for the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.
GOES-R is designed to give meteorologists a better, more detailed sense of what the weather will do as it unfolds.Â
This season's hurricane forecast calls for a 45 percent chance of an above-normal season, a 35 percent chance of a near-normal season and a 20 percent chance of a below-normal season.
Forecasters predicted a 70 percent likelihood of 11-17 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher), of which five to nine could become hurricanes. Two to four of those hurricanes could be a Category 3 or higher. The numbers include Tropical Storm Arlene, a rare preseason storm that formed in April.
The season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.