Satellite Detection of Intense Convective Activity

On June 19, 1975, the 2030Z visible 1/2-mile resolution SMS-1 satellite picture showed an intense convective cell centered over Rockingham, N. C., just north of the South Carolina border (See A, Figure 1A). Wilmington, N. C. radar showed a rain shower with this cell, but did not indicate a high echo reflectivity, probably due to the 100-mile range. An arc-shaped line of weaker convective cells can be seen to the south of this storm, entering South Carolina. Other intense convective cells with accompanying arc lines are seen extending from the Western Mountains of North Carolina southeastward through northwestern South Carolina into Georgia and Alabama (See B, C, D, Figure 1A). Purdom (1973) associated arc lines of this type with the leading edge of a meso-high moving out from a thunderstorm area.