PGLM over Houston Center

At the end of the day yesterday we saw several areas of convection begin to fire along a boundary into eastern TX and western LA. As it further developed it began to impede flight routes not only in the corridor between Dallas and Houston, but also between Houston and the eastern U.S. Figure 1 shows the radar imagery from 1934 - 2036 Z overlaid with flight routes during that time. Note in particular the airspace between Dallas and Houston as the convection filled in.

Figure 1. 20130814 1934 - 2036 Z composite reflectivity and ASDI flight routes

Now check out the PGLM activity in the Houston network for the same time (Figure 2)

Figure 2. 20130814 1934 - 2036 Z PGLM within the Houston LMA

Towards the beginning of the loop the convective activity between Houston and Dallas was beginning to fill in but flights were still able to shoot the gaps without too much delay. However, the PGLM, while indicating densities of only 10/2 min or less, had flashes in or very near the routes of some of the aircraft. Then, as the convection further strengthened and the PGLM activity increased, air traffic began to divert completely around these areas instead of shooting the gaps.

In the case, you can see the potential utility of the GLM once GOES-R is launched, particularly in the earlier period of convective development. Radar echoes during that time didn't look particularly intense within the gaps, however the PGLM was showing flashes.