Course Info: Using JPSS CrIS Water Vapor and Air Mass RGB Products

Using JPSS CrIS Water Vapor and Air Mass RGB Products

Course Description

Geostationary satellites provide limited coverage toward the poles, leaving forecasters without critical water vapor bands and specialized RGB products needed to analyze high-latitude weather. This lesson helps apply newly developed satellite methodologies to address that gap by introducing you to the capabilities of the Cross-Track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on JPSS polar-orbiting satellites (S-NPP, NOAA-20, -21).

CrIS data provides multispectral IR imagery over the poles, enabling the creation of Air Mass RGB and Water Vapor (WV) products that overcome the limitations, such as limb cooling and parallaxing effects, inherent in GOES imagery at high latitudes. This training is essential for forecasters who need to detect and monitor weather in high-latitude regions, including Atmospheric Rivers and Polar Cyclones/Cold Fronts.

Intended Audience for This Course

The intended audience for "Using JPSS CrIS Water Vapor and Air Mass RGB Products" is operational forecasters or others with satellite experience who analyze weather systems in high-latitude regions.  This lesson is approximately 15–20 minutes long.

Course Access

You can access the lesson here: https://learn.meted.ucar.edu/#/online-course-player/133fcc61-957e-4a6d-aae1-0a7e278b9e4c

Course Publish Date

November 7, 2025

Comments or Questions? 

We welcome any comments or questions you may have regarding the content, instructional approach, or use of this lesson. Please e-mail your comments or questions to Bryan Guarente (guarente@ucar.edu). For technical support, please visit our Registration and Support FAQs https://www.meted.ucar.edu/resources_faq.php