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.