You Cannot Believe Everything You See in a Satellite Photo

During the evening of May 8, 1985, skies were clear and winds were light aver the Eastern Great Lakes Region. At 03Z temperatures, measured about 5 feet above ground, were in the low and mid-40's across northeast Ohio (Figure 1). Dewpoints were in the 20's to lower 30's. The satellite phota using the JG Curve at 0231Z May 9, 1985, (Figure 2( shows an enhanced area over northeast Ohio indicating temperatures less than 32 F. It is reasonable to assume the indicated temperatures in this area of enhancement were at the warmer end of this enhancement band, i.e, in the range of 31 F to 28 F. At first, the temperature difference between satellite measurements and surface observations seemed unreasonable, but the difference can be expiained.