Enroute Icing

### Produced by The COMET® Program

### Step 1: Diagnosing Locations of Icing » Satellite Data » Culminating Satellite Question

The PIREPS showed areas where light and moderate icing were reported. Satellite imagery can be used to fill in the spaces between reports and give a better representation of the areal extent of icing. Now, we’ll combine the satellite data to determine the areas with the biggest potential for icing.

#### Question

Use the drawing pens to outline the areas from each satellite product that are at risk for icing in the area from Kansas, Missouri, and Kentucky northward to the Canadian border.

Use the black pen to outline areas at risk from icing from the WV product; the red pen for areas with icing risk from the LW IR product; and the blue pen for areas with icing risk from the RGB product.

Tool: | Tool Size: | Color:
--- | --- | ---
Pen Eraser |  |

The map shows the areas with icing risk, color-coded for each satellite product.

The LW IR imagery indicates an area in the southern half of the Chicago CWSU service area with cloud tops in the 0° to -22°C range (in the oval). This region is favorable for supercooled water and icing.

The Cloud Phase and Icing Potential RGB shows a large area of supercooled water clouds in shades of blue from central and southern Illinois south and west to the Texas panhandle, then northward through the western Great Plains. The blue shading represents supercooled cloud tops at 0° to -20°C. The eastern portion of this region is largely consistent with other satellite guidance.

The WV imagery shows gray and enhanced purple to blue shading, indicating a moist environment with some colder cloud tops in the service area. If the colder clouds move over the lower supercooled layers, ice crystals could reduce the supercooled water in the layers below.