Satellite sector 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-West is pointing mesoscale sector 2 at a point about 160 mi E of Medford, OR — to support fire weather operations. 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
- 41.9°N, 119.8°W view on map
- Reason given
- fire wx ops across the Pacific Northwest
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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 071620 ADMSDM SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD 1618Z FRI AUG 07 2026 MDS STATUS... GOES-W MDS Sector 2 will be centered over 41.9N/119.8W from now to 08/1100Z in support of fire wx ops across the Pacific Northwest. Green/SDM/NCO