A Satellite-Based Fog Detection Scheme Using Screen Air Temperature

Abstract A warm fog detection (air temperature > −5°C) algorithm using a combination of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-12 (GOES-12) observations and screen temperature data based on an operational numerical model has been developed. This algorithm was tested on a large number of daytime cases during the spring and summer of 2004. Results from the scheme were compared with surface observations from four manned Canadian weather stations in Ontario, including Ottawa, Windsor, Sudbury, and Toronto. Initially, when all cases were included, fog detection (hit rate) by the satellite scheme ranged between 0.26 and 0.32. It is suggested that mid- or high-level clouds within the satellite imagery during the observed foggy periods affected the scheme’s performance in detecting surface-level fog for the majority of the cases. When cases with mid- and high-level clouds were removed using model-based screen temperatures, the hit rate ranged between 0.55 and 1.0. With an average false alarm rate of 0....

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