Earth has never been more observed, with swarms of spacecraft providing nonstop satellite imagery of our planet. And there’s some amazing imagery to look back on this year! From historic hurricanes to a total solar eclipse, here are 12 breathtaking sights captured by NOAA’s GOES satellites in 2024.
Hurricane Helene – the most destructive storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season
On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane. Its storm surge made neighborhoods in Florida’s Big Bend unrecognizable. And even after the storm weakened and moved inland, heavy rain led to catastrophic flash flooding in the Carolinas. Helene was the deadliest and most destructive tropical storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, and NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite followed its every move. In this infrared imagery, the colors represent a combination of factors including moisture levels and sea surface temperatures, illustrating the intensity of the storm as it made landfall.
The Park Fire, California’s 4th Largest Wildfire in recorded history
Northern California is no stranger to wildfires, but this year’s Park Fire burned its mark into the record books. Covering nearly 430,000 acres (174,000 hectares), it became California’s 4th-largest wildfire in recorded history. Starting on July 24, the massive fire lasted for more than 2 months. In this satellite imagery timelapse from GOES-18, you can see the smoke plume develop and the fire expand over 2 days.
An atmospheric river impacting the US West Coast
When forecasting weather for the West Coast of the United States, what’s happening out over the Pacific Ocean is key. One weather phenomenon forecasters watch for is atmospheric rivers, which are narrow corridors of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere. GOES-18 tracked this typical atmospheric river on November 19-21, allowing experts to see where the highest amounts of moisture were in an approaching storm system.
A view of North America’s total solar eclipse
The many millions of people in the path of totality weren’t the only ones watching the total solar eclipse on April 8 this year. The GOES-16 satellite had the best seat in the house, capturing the moon’s shadow in this 2-hour timelapse as it moved across North America. Were you lucky enough to stand in that shadow?
An enormous flare from our star
The GOES satellites aren’t only monitoring Earth … they can also see our star! On October 3, the recently launched GOES-19 spacecraft imaged the largest flare of Solar Cycle 25 so far. It was an X9 flare, with X being the most powerful category of solar flare. GOES-19 captured the powerful blast in ultraviolet light with its Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) instrument. With the sun now officially at the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, we can expect more imagery like this as we move into 2025!
Historic Hurricane Milton in the Gulf of Mexico
Suddenly springing to life on October 7, Hurricane Milton quickly became the 5th-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record. The destructive storm devastated parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast and caused a tornado outbreak across the state. In this timelapse of infrared satellite imagery from GOES-16, you can watch the storm intensify on its journey through the Gulf of Mexico, across Florida, and back out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Wildfire smoke in Western Canada
The U.S was not the only country in North America dealing with historic wildfires this year. Canada also battled large wildfires this summer, with a prolonged drought after the warmest winter season on record contributing to major fires in British Columbia and Alberta. In this GOES-16 satellite imagery from November 13, we can see the jet stream transport the wildfire smoke into parts of New England.
Lake-effect snow for Thanksgiving weekend
A side of lake-effect snow might not be what you want brought to the table at Thanksgiving … but that’s exactly what a few states in the Great Lakes region got this year. Over Thanksgiving weekend, lake-effect snow bands set up and dropped more than 5 feet of snow in some areas, including parts of western New York. This GOES-16 imagery shows the prolonged snow bands impacting locations from New York to Michigan.
A sister satellite launch from space
In typical sibling fashion, the satellites in the most recent GOES-R series can keep an eye on each other from the moment they blast off into space. On June 25, GOES-19 – the 4th and final GOES-R satellite – was spotted lifting off from Cape Canaveral by its sister satellite, GOES-16. This imagery, which comes from an instrument designed to spot wildfires, shows the fire from the rocket carrying GOES-19 into orbit.
Summer flooding in South Florida
If you live in Florida, you know that the summer months can be very rainy. But sometimes, expanded plumes of tropical moisture contribute to extreme rain events, as seen this past June in South Florida. From June 11-14, storms dropped huge amounts of rain, with totals reaching just over 19 inches (48 centimeters) in Hollywood and almost 14 inches (36 centimeters) in Miami Beach. This GOES-16 satellite imagery shows the storms developing and pummeling Florida with lightning strikes and torrential rain on June 11-12.
A pre-Valentines nor’easter
In the run-up to Valentine’s Day this year, it seems Mother Nature was not in a loving mood. A strong nor’easter developed on February 10 and caused quite a mess from the mid-Atlantic up into New England. With this type of storm, powerful winds howl in from the northeast, bringing with them lots of moisture from the Atlantic. In this timelapse of images from GOES-16, you can see the massive storm system move into the northeast overnight on February 12-13.
Tornadoes break out across the Great Plains
At the end of April, parts of the Great Plains from Texas through Iowa were battered by a line of severe thunderstorms. And these storms spawned more than 100 tornadoes. This water vapor imagery from GOES-16 reveals the moisture-rich storms as they developed from April 25-28. The green spots represent the areas of highest moisture, coinciding with the location of each supercell storm.
Bottom line: Enjoy our 12 favorite pieces of satellite imagery from the past year, from historic hurricanes to a total solar eclipse. Thank you, GOES satellites!
Meredith Garofalo
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About the Author:
Meredith is a regional Murrow award-winning Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and science/space correspondent. She most recently was a freelance meteorologist for TV stations in New York City, Cleveland, and Columbus and freelances for Space.com.
Her personal and professional work has also been recognized over the last decade. This includes the inaugural Valparaiso University Alumni Association First Decade Achievement Award, two special reports in News 12’s Climate Special “Saving Our Shores” that won a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, multiple Fair Media Council Folio & Press Club of Long Island awards for meteorology & reporting, and a Long Island Business News & NYC TV Week “40 Under 40” Award.
Meredith frequents as a panel moderator at the Space Symposium & Satellite Conference, has been a judge for the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame & reoccurring moderator for Foundation for the Future. Meredith spends countless hours doing school, career, & motivational talks and podcasts to help encourage women pursuing STEM careers and inspire our future generations. She moderates panels, serves as emcee for events, & conducts interviews to further storytelling on space & science topics.
