2 satellite sectors moved
Satellite moves MDS STATUS...
Each GOES weather satellite has two “mesoscale sectors” — small, movable windows that the satellite photographs roughly every 60 seconds, far more often than its routine full-disk and continental scans. Forecasters aim them at whatever is most important that day. This section announces where they are being pointed and for how long.
GOES-East is pointing mesoscale sector 2 at a point about 75 mi SE of Oklahoma City, OK — to support severe thunderstorm and tornado forecasting. That means this patch of sky gets a fresh satellite image about once a minute instead of every 5 to 10 minutes, so forecasters can watch storms develop almost in real time.
- Centre point
- 34.8°N, 96.5°W view on map
- Window
- from until
- Reason given
- severe wx ops in the Central Plains
GOES-West is pointing mesoscale sector 2 over the eastern Pacific — to keep a close eye on a tropical system. That means this patch of sky gets a fresh satellite image about once a minute instead of every 5 to 10 minutes, so forecasters can watch storms develop almost in real time.
- Centre point
- 17.2°N, 127.7°W view on map
- Window
- from until
- Reason given
- monitoring Tropical Storm Norbert in the Eastern Pacific
Show the original message
Exactly as NWS transmitted it. Everything above is our plain-English reading of this text — if the two ever disagree, this is the authoritative version.
000 NOUS42 KWNO 120940 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 0939Z SAT SEP 12 2026 MDS STATUS... GOES-E MDS Sector 2 will be centered over 34.8N/96.5W from 1200Z to 13/1200Z in support of severe wx ops in the Central Plains. GOES-W MDS Sector 2 will be centered over 17.2N/127.7W from 1200Z to 13/1200Z in support of monitoring Tropical Storm Norbert in the Eastern Pacific. Kempisty/SDM/NCO