The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Satellite Analysis Branch, part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA)'s

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to operate and manage the United States environmental satellite programs, and manage the data g ...

's Satellite Services Division, is the operational focal point for real-time imagery products within NESDIS. It is also responsible for doing

Dvorak technique The Dvorak technique (developed between 1969 and 1984 by Vernon Dvorak) is a widely used system to estimate tropical cyclone intensity (which includes tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane/typhoon/intense tropical cyclone intensitie ...

intensity fixes on

tropical cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...

. Its roots lie in the establishment of the Meteorological Satellite Section by January 1959. Its primary mission is to "operate new proof of concept satellite analysis techniques needed to support disaster mitigation and warning services" for the U.S. government and its agencies. It also distributes real-time satellite imagery from geostationary satellites. The SAB also produces graphics for Tropical Rainfall Potential forecasts for all tropical systems in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

and many in the Eastern Hemisphere. Away from

, the SAB functions as the

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Volcanic Ash Advisory Center A Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) is a group of experts responsible for coordinating and disseminating information on atmospheric volcanic ash clouds that may endanger aviation. As at 2019, there are nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers located a ...

, having been designated as such by the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

in 1997. It also does snow and ice analysis, and has done so, along with its parent organizations NESDIS and SSD, since 1966.IMS Daily Northern Hemisphere Snow and Ice Analysis at 4 km and 24 km Resolution
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References

External links

SSD page for current geostationary satellite imagery
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration {{Climate-stub