  Recent testing and validation have found that the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellite (GOES) microburst products are effective in the
assessment and short-term forecasting of downburst potential and associated
wind gust magnitude. Two products, the GOES sounder Microburst Windspeed
Potential Index (MWPI) and a new bi-spectral GOES imager brightness temperature
difference (BTD) product have demonstrated capability in downburst potential
assessment. In addition, a comparison study between the GOES-R Convective
Overshooting Top (OT) Detection and MWPI algorithms has been completed for
cases that occurred during the 2007 to 2009 convective seasons over the
southern Great Plains. Favorable results of the comparison study include a
statistically significant negative correlation between the OT minimum
temperature and MWPI values and associated measured downburst wind gust
magnitude. The negative functional relationship between the OT parameters and
wind gust speed highlights the importance of updraft strength, realized by
large CAPE, in the generation of heavy precipitation and subsequent intense
convective downdraft generation. This paper provides an updated assessment of
the GOES MWPI and GOES BTD algorithms, presents case studies demonstrating
effective operational use of the microburst products, and presents results of a
cross comparison study of the GOES-R overshooting top (OT) detection algorithm
over the United States Great Plains region.
