I remember in college in the late 2000s learning about forecasting weather. My classmates and I would hand draw maps with the current weather systems and then we'd look at the satellite data to help paint the picture of what would happen in the coming hours and days.
NOAA's weather satellites were good back then, but compared to what we have in orbit now, the difference is night and day. As a broadcast meteorologist, I've used the data they provide to communicate life-saving information and advanced warning to billions of people across the United States and even the Caribbean when threatening weather developed.
