Recent progress in methods for deriving winds from satellite data at NESDIS/CIMSS

Abstract The first six months of operation with the new automatic cloud motion wind (CMW) processing at NESDIS is evaluated. Improved vector accuracy is shown, but a slow bias to upper level winds persists. Research development of infrared window and water vapor winds using the METEOSAT-3 are discussed. With the METEOSAT data, CO2 height assignment cannot be used, and the infrared window CMW are slightly inferior to those from GOES-7. METEOSAT-3 water vapor winds are quite encouraging and appear to offer the long-sought useful information at middle levels, although the quality is marginal for improving on the NMC forecasts. Operational gradient winds generated from VAS temperature profiles are also explored, and shown to offer positive information on the geopotential gradients.