WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000
From 22,000 miles up, GOES satellites have a sky-high view of the weather below.

00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:11.000
Here is a unique look at how GOES sees the Earth and tracks storms as they flow across the planet.

00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:18.000
High in the sky, GOES satellites use the perspective from space to keep an eye on Earth's weather.

00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:22.000
GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites,

00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:28.000
and are weather spacecraft that monitor weather over the Earth's western hemisphere.

00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:34.000
Three, two, one, zero, we have ignition start, and liftoff.

00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:42.000
The GOES series of spacecraft began launching into orbit in October 1975. Over the course of 30 years,

00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:49.000
10 more GOES satellites have taken their turn standing guard, continually watching the skies below.

00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:59.000
From 22,000 miles up, the weather sentinels peer into the atmosphere, tracking emerging storms, season after season.

00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:07.000
The information they gather helps to provide the weather forecasts we rely on year-round to safely live, work and play.

00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:16.000
During winter, GOES spacecraft follow weather systems such as the snowshowers that blanket the Great Lakes. In the mountain states,

00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:24.000
the satellites assist with snowy forecasts for events like the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah.

00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:31.000
The onset of summer brings about soaking rainstorms and fierce hurricanes.

00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:40.000
GOES spacecraft use a rapid-scan mode to track the minute-by-minute growth of thunderstorms, like this cluster blooming over Florida.

00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:49.000
Maintaining a constant alert over the Atlantic Ocean, the satellites also keep a lookout for hurricanes swirling off the west coast of Africa.

00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:57.000
After a hurricane forms, special instruments of GOES can detail a storm's structure and wind characteristics.

00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:02.000
GOES satellites also monitor other significant atmospheric events.

00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:13.000
From space, the satellites can track forest fires like this one in Mexico, as the smoke plume rises into the atmosphere into Texas and Oklahoma.

00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:25.000
GOES can detect volcanic eruptions, as well. Zooming in on the Caribbean, GOES observed this eruption on the island of Montserrat.

00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:32.000
The images transmitted from GOES satellites are the very same ones shown during nightly television newscasts.

00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:39.000
In addition to being seen on TV, GOES photos are often featured on covers of major magazines like Newsweek,

00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:51.000
Science and National Geographic. Like billowing clouds and waving windsocks, GOES satellites provide telltale signs for accurate weather forecasting.

00:02:51.000 --> 00:03:02.000
They're our eyes in the sky, keeping us ahead of the storm.

00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:07.000