RED IN THE FACE...

A viewer recently inquired about those colorful satellite pictures of hurricanes that are commonly shown on TV this time of year. Specifically, the viewer wanted to know what the colors represent. Like many things in meteorology, the answer may not be exactly what you think.

"False colorized infrared satellite images" (the technical term) have been a staple of weathercasts for many years. These images come from satellite data that measure the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation being emitted by an object. Essentially, infrared satellite imagery measures cloud temperatures.

Strong hurricanes are usually represented by colors such as red or orange. However, the actual colors that appear on an infrared satellite picture are completely arbitrary. After all, a hurricane doesn't not appear as a mass of red clouds in real life- clouds are actually white or grey in appearance. But hurricanes are often assigned red or orange colors on television. These red and orange colors indicated clouds that are cold, not hot.

Remember, strong hurricanes contain clouds that reach great height. The higher you go, the cooler the clouds. So why not color the cold clouds blue instead of red on a satellite image? The answer is simple- red looks "meaner" than blue. Even in meteorology, there is a touch of psychology...