The SIFT User's Guide

The Satellite Information Familiarization Tool (SIFT) was designed at SSEC/CIMSS to support scientists during forecaster training events. It provides a graphical interface for visualization and basic analysis of geostationary satellite data.

The first thing to do with SIFT: Download the version you wish to use. The latest downloads are available at this ftp site (ftp://ftp.ssec.wisc.edu/pub/sift/dist/). There are versions for unix (.gz), Apple (.dmg) and Windows (.exe); Grab what you need, and download and expand it. You do not need to compile anything.

SIFT will directly read in GOES-16 (and GOES-17) data that has been requested and received from the NOAA CLASS archive. Many different data sources are available from CLASS: You want to choose 'GOES-R Series ABI Products (GRABIPRD) (partially restricted L1b and L2+ Data Products)' and then click on the 'GO' next to the ">>" that sits next to the drop down menu that includes all the products. SIFT will display either Radiance/Reflectance files, or CMI (Cloud/Moisture Imagery) files. Order what you want, and await the email from CLASS that says it is ready to be downloaded. Download the data onto your computer.

Once the data are in place, start up SIFT. How this is done varies by operating system. In RedHat linux, for example, it's done by executing a script. On Windows 10, you might click on an Icon. The SIFT Window should appear, as shown below. (Version 1.0.3 is being used).