On 13 May the new Rapid Scan Service (RSS) from Meteosat-8 (one of the satellites of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites) has started to provide operational rapid data images.
The RSS generates data at 5 minutes intervals by scanning more frequently small areas. The increase of temporal resolution from the standard 15 minutes to the rapid 5 minutes interval helps to isolate information on cloud development and to provide an improved insight into the dynamics of rapidly developing meteorological phenomena.
The RSS could thus forecast small-scale, short-lived but severe events such as tornadoes, hail, flash floods or dust storms, which is rather difficult for the existing computer resolving power. The rapid data images are therefore invaluable for disaster prevention and available for use by GMES and other environmental data providers.
More info on Eumetsat website
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