High Rate Information Transmission / Emergency Managers Weather Information Network

HRIT/EMWIN Overview

HRIT/EMWIN is a direct-to-user broadcast at L-band (1694.1 MHz) with hemispherical coverage from dedicated transponders on the GOES-R series geostationary satellites. Broadcast data include NWS warnings/watches, environmental charts, both GOES and Himawari imagery, and a re-broadcast of GOES Data Collection System (DCS) platform sensor messages. There is no fee or license requirement by NOAA to receive this broadcast, which is in an open format. Users can have unlimited access to the data by purchasing the necessary equipment (computer, software, antenna and receivers) from commercial companies and/or community-driven hardware and open source software.

Aerospace HRIT/EMWIN Prototype

In 2009, NASA/NOAA contracted work to Aerospace to design and build a HRIT/EMWIN prototype software-based radio receiver that can process the received downlink frequency signal from an antenna and demodulator. This prototype would be open-sourced to the public that would display how one could download the software and assemble a ready to receive ground station at a low cost.

The GOES Software Defined Radio (GOESSDR) supports most Intel-based personal computers and tablets by creating a live USB image. The live USB image is actually a self-contained, bootable Ubuntu Linux operating system with all the software necessary to run the GOES-R receiver application. Users can follow the included directions to create a Live USB thumb drive from this image and use this receiver with minimum configuration and support. The Linux software does not actually install on a user’s PC, but runs from the USB device. This method was selected for simplicity and avoids the user having to find the necessary software libraries and drivers if one were to install it directly on a Windows operating system. An alternative downloadable package can be directly loaded on a LINUX operating system without a USB memory stick.

To use the USB image, a user at the minimum would need a 4 GB USB drive, though a 16GB USB 3.0 is recommended. The process uses free software to create the live USB drive. Once the user has created the bootable USB drive, the PC would need to be restarted and booted from USB drive itself at start-up (via BIOS menu). Depending upon the PC or operating system, you either have to press the ESC key at boot time to access the computer’s BIOS configuration and select the booting priorities (make sure the USB drive is selected before the computer’s hard drive) or press the F9 key to select the device (e.g., USB drive) to boot the PC. Please check with your personal computers manufacturer on the correct process of getting to the BIOS configuration. Note that booting up from a USB drive may not be available on the Apple Mac Operating System (OS), depending on the CPU type.

Use the links below to download the software and instructions for the prototype:

• ATR-2010 Document
  • A Flexible Software Based EMWIN/HRIT Prototype Solution for The GOES-R Transition


• NOAA GOES-R LRIT/HRIT & EMWIN Software Radio Receiver User's Guide
  • NOAA GOES LRIT/HRIT & EMWIN Software Radio Receiver


• Creating a Live USB Thumb Drive On Windows to Run the GOES-R HRIT/EMWIN Software
  • Creating a Live USB Thumb Drive on Windows
  • Bootable ISO image with the GOES-R HRIT/EMWIN Prototype SDR Receiver Software

For all questions or feedback concerning the links above, please contact hrit.manager@noaa.gov, for inquiries about the software content itself, please contact Aerospace.

Broadcast

The NOAA/NESDIS High Rate Information Transmission / Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (HRIT/EMWIN) broadcast is resident on NOAA’s GOES-R Series of Satellites. It is now operational on GOES-19 as the operational East satellite and GOES-18 as the operational West satellite. The NOAA-NESDIS fly out chart can be located NOAA-NESDIS fly out chart.

The GOES HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast transition from the previously separate LRIT and EMWIN broadcasts began in December 2017, when the first of the new GOES-R Series of satellites (GOES-16) became the operational East satellite after its launch the previous year. GOES-17 was then launched on March 1st, 2018 to eventually become the West satellite at GOES-15’s position. GOES-13 and GOES-15 have been transferred to the USSF and renamed EWS-G1 and EWS-G2. GOES-14 is in a storage orbit. GOES-16 is in standby for contingency operations. To find out more regarding GOES status, please visit the GOES-R website and the GOES-R Mission Overview. NESDIS provides “Satellite Programs Launch Date Charts” with information regarding each GOES mission life expectancy for operations.

The HRIT/EMWIN broadcast is in the L-band range at 1694.1 center frequency. The broadcast should be able to be received using a VSAT antenna of less than 2 meters with a predicted minimum size of 1 meter (see the “Antenna System” specification in the accompanying table). It is advisable to consult with your equipment provider as each installation is unique based on your location within the broadcast footprint and your unique antenna location.

HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast Specification

The primary HRIT/EMWIN broadcast is formed in the HRIT/EMWIN processors within the Product Distribution and Access (PDA) system at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility (NSOF) in Suitland, MD. It is formed into a broadcast stream and sent to either the Command and Data Acquisition Station at Wallops Island, Virginia (WCDAS) or the Consolidated Backup Facility (CBU) at Fairmont, WV for uplink to the satellite. A secondary instance of the HRIT/EMWIN and PDA systems are located at the Consolidated Backup Facility (CBU) in Fairmont, WV. This broadcast is restricted to the essential components of the Emergency Manager Weather Information Network (EMWIN) and GOES Data Collection Service (DCS) products along with some graphic format satellite images. This broadcast stream can be uplinked at the CBU at Fairmont or transferred to the Wallops Command and Data Acquisition Station (WCDAS) in Wallops Island, Virginia. The broadcast is formed in accordance with the HRIT/LRIT Standard and CCSDS Standards.

The HRIT/EMWIN broadcast can be received within the footprint of the GOES East and West satellites. The HRIT/EMWIN broadcast can be received from the Eastern Atlantic Ocean to the West-Central Pacific Ocean. In addition, the HRIT/EMWIN broadcast contains imagery in the NOAA HRIT format from the Himawari satellite. This extends the coverage available to the Indian Ocean and East Asia mainland.

Following the HRIT/LRIT Standard, data files are assigned to a number of Virtual Channels with associated priorities on the broadcast.

Emergency Manager Weather Information Network

The EMWIN virtual channels 20-22 carry a large array of NWS-produced warnings, watches, forecasts, discussions and graphic imagery products. Also included are other emergency information; for example, amber alerts. The EMWIN products are now sent as individual messages. Commercial and open-source software packages are available to present the EMWIN information graphically.

GOES Data Collection System

The GOES Data Collection System (DCS) information is a data relay system used to transmit observations from surface-based environmental platforms through NOAA's geostationary satellites, for delivery back to the platform owner. Approved users (e.g. government, non-profit) anywhere in the footprint of GOES can apply to utilize the system. Users are given frequency and time slots for their transmissions. GOES DCS is a critical communication tool for near-real-time observations for 40+ countries in the western hemisphere. There are thousands of Data Collection Platforms that transfer their observations through GOES satellites. Some examples are: automatic weather stations, tide and tsunami buoys, river and flood gauges and seismic gauges. There are several ways to access or receive GOES DCS data, through the internet or via satellite broadcast. One way is through HRIT/EMWIN, another is the GEONETCast-Americas broadcast. GOES DCS observations, while in text, are coded and require each DCS user of HRIT/EMWIN to have the proper application to store these files in a database and to decode them if necessary. Message latency for DCS over HRIT/EMWIN, from message reception at the Wallops Command and Data Acquisition site to re-broadcast over HRIT/EMWIN, is less than 30 seconds and typically 13 seconds (median).

Imagery

The GOES-R Series carries the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument which has 16 imagery bands. The baseline spatial resolution at nadir varies from 0.5 km in the visible Band 2, to 1 km in Bands 1,3, and 5, to 2km for all other Bands. For more information about the ABI instrument see the GOES-R Series Data Book. The HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast selects the Cloud and Moisture Imagery Product full-disk and mesoscale images for seven bands (2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14 ,15). Although the ABI instrument schedule usually takes a full-disk image every 10 minutes, HRIT/EMWIN bandwidth constraints allow two full-disk images per selected band per hour. The mesoscale products are sent at native resolution, but the full-disk products are all 2km resolution. For more information about the CMI Product, see the Fact Sheet or the full Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document.

❮ ❯

Click the link below to download the files associated with Z_QATA00KWBC110845_C_KWIN_20260311204545_011287-3-RADSMSVY.

• A_WWUS53KDVN102359_C_KWIN_20260311000017_940099-1-SVSDVNIA
• Z_QATA00KWBC110845_C_KWIN_20260311204545_011287-3-RADSMSVY

For more information see GOES-R “Cloud and Moisture Imagery Fact Sheet” or the GOES-R “ABI Bands Quick Information Guides. This is a significant increase in quality and in quantity of imagery over the GOES-NOP era LRIT broadcast. Of the 16 ABI bands, 7 bands in the full disk sector have been selected for broadcast on HRIT/EMWIN. HRIT also includes 3 bands in the mesoscale sector.

Note that the native release format of the image products from the GOES-R Series of satellites is the Network Common Data Form – Version 4, or netCDF4. This format is transposed into the HRIT/LRIT format for the HRIT/EMWIN broadcast. See Broadcast tab for the HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast Virtual Channel allocations and schedule.

Another product component is a selection of tropical weather and ocean graphics that are pulled from the NWS National Hurricane Center. These include tropical storm tracks, maritime forecasts, maritime surface charts and discussions along with winds and seas warnings.

Also included in the HRIT/EMWIN broadcasts are HRIT-formatted Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) Himawari image data. NOAA receives Himawari visible, Infrared and Water Vapor images from the Japanese Meteorological Agency and converts them to NOAA HRIT format. The imagery datasets are transmitted each hour. Himawari carries the AHI or Advanced Himawari Imager instrument which is very similar to the GOES-R ABI. Thus, the full disk images are nearly compatible with the ABI images that are closest in wavelength and in the case of GOES-West, offer a view of the Pacific area from Asia to much of North America.

Reception

The NOAA/NESDIS High Rate Information Transmission / Emergency Managers Weather Information Network (HRIT/EMWIN) broadcast can be received using a VSAT system with the basic components of a VSAT antenna, low-noise block-down converter (LNB), satellite signal receiver, software to de-encapsulate the broadcast stream and some type of visualization software. The necessary components and related specifications are located in the accompanying table. A partial list of component and system manufacturers can be found in the “Satellite Receiving Equipment Manufacturers”. Note that this is a voluntary and partial list of vendors and there are manufacturers not listed and some that may have ceased to participate in the industry.

*Table 4.1: HRIT/EMWIN Broadcast Reception Components and Specifications (Updated 03/11/2026)*

HRIT/EMWIN can be received over much of the Western Hemisphere between extreme Western Africa and extreme Eastern Australia and Eastern Polynesia. The combination of the low rain-fad characteristic of the L-band signal and the small aperture antenna required for reception allows for simultaneous reception of GOES-R Series and Himawari reduced resolution imagery, the EMWIN content and GOES-DCS observations.

On HRIT/EMWIN, the products are arranged into Broadcast Groups and then virtual sub-channels. The HRIT/EMWIN Virtual Channel Identification – Product Table (table below) on this page and repeated under the Products Tab provides a mapping of the products to the Virtual Channel IDs with the product delivery periodicity and format.

*Figure 4.2: HRIT/EMWIN Virtual Channel Identification – Product Table (Updated 03/11/2026)*

More information on the HRIT/EMWIN broadcast and products can be found under their tabs on this site. The broadcast stream is based on the HRIT/LRIT and CCSDS Standards. Depending on the software used to de-encapsulate the broadcast stream, users can select which products to store or archive on their systems.

Most products are in formats that are easily viewed by most computer systems such as text, jpeg and gif. The GOES DCS observations, while in text, are coded. Each owner of a Data Collection Platforms (DCP) is the owner of the observation from those platforms. Each DCS user of HRIT/EMWIN is responsible for having an application to store these files in a database and to decode them.

The native format of the imagery from the GOES-R Series of satellites is the Network Common Data Form – Version 4, or netCDF4. This format is transposed into the HRIT/LRIT format for inclusion into the HRIT/EMWIN broadcast. View the netCDF and netCDF4 for more information. Visit the “Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites LRIT/HRIT Global Specification”. Most commercial HRIT/EMWIN or XRIT systems contain software that will view and / or manipulate the images in HRIT format.

A solution for do-it-yourselfers and hobbyists is documented on the GOES-R website at https://www.goes-r.gov/users/hrit-links.html, it is also available on the “Aerospace prototype” page on the NOAASIS website. This solution uses a “simple software-based radio receiver to process the received radio frequency signal from an antenna and demodulator” and can be combined with a VSAT antenna.

During the NOAA Satellite Conference in Miami, Florida in the spring of 2010, a provisional installation of a HRIT/EMWIN system was installed in the parking lot outside the hotel conference center. The system consisted of a lightweight antenna, LNA, the original version of the prototype receiver and software, a laptop computer, a normal CRT and a batter for power. It successfully showed the satellite imagery of an approaching squall line with thunderstorm activity along with the EMWIN warning information and graphics.

View all of Geostationary Satellites Status and their instruments

View the imaging “Schedules and Scan Sectors”

NOAA/NESDIS/OSPO posts notifications that consist of “information about NOAA's satellite operations.” To “decode the ".txt" filenames listed above, MSGXXXHHMM.NN.txt, MSG means "Message", XXX is the Julian Date, HHMM is the time of the message and NN is the sequence number.”

Users can also be put on email distribution of the notifications by emailing the NESDIS Help Desk at ESPC Operations or visit the Contact Page.

Sample Imagery HRIT/EMWIN

The following HRIT/EMWIN test data files in the HRIT/LRIT Format are provided for GOES-R Series Satellites. GOES-19 is currently the operational East satellite at 75.2° west, while GOES-18 is the operational West satellite at 137.0° west.

The GOES-R series spacecraft have the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), which has a total of 16 image bands each. HRIT/EMWIN only carries the following bands in full disk sectors: 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14 and 15. There are 3 sectors in the Mesoscale sector: 1) 2 (0.5 km resolution), 7 and 13 (both 2 km resolution). Information about the bands can be found on the GOES-R website at:

• ABI Bands Quick Information Guides
• Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) Fact Sheet

Click on the text below the imagery to download the .lrit sample file for each GOES-16 channel selection:

GOES-16 Visual Band 2 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Near-infrared Band 7 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Water Vapor Band 8 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Water Vapor Band 9 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Longwave Infrared Band 13 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Longwave Infrared Band 14 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Longwave Infrared Band 15 Full Disk Imagery

GOES-16 Visual Band 2 Mesoscale Imagery

GOES-16 Band 13 IR Mesoscale

GOES-16 Near-Infrared Band 7 Mesoscale Imagery

GOES-15 LRIT Test Data Files

The following GOES-15 test data files are provided for the GOES-N/O/P LRIT broadcast in the HRIT/LRIT Format. At this time, GOES-15 is Operational West Satellite. GOES-13 is currently in a storage orbit. Until GOES-13/14/15 are decommissioned, sample files will be maintained on this page.

HRIT/EMWIN Frequently Asked Questions