Turbulence north of St. Louis Center: Overshooting Top Utility

At 1432 UTC this morning and 757 commercial jet reported light to moderate turbulence just north of St. Louis Center at FL360. The Overshooting Top (OT) algorithm showed a detection in this very same area (denoted by the neon green polygon under the turbulence report symbol). The IR image below had cloud tops in this area around FL360 to FL390, which corresponds to the flight level of the turbulence report. In this case, we can see how the OT algorithm could be used as a situational awareness tool, to route flights around potential areas of turbulence due to convection that may not seem all that intense on the radar imagery.

120611 1432 UTC Overshooting Top detection and VIS

120611 1432 UTC IR