GOES-16 satellite is LIVE on ABC13

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- ABC13 is one of the first TV stations in the country to put data from the new GOES-16 satellite on the air.

Chief Meteorologist Tim Heller explains the ABC13 weather team is working with the Weather Company to test the distribution of the high-resolution data.

"I'm pretty excited about this," said Heller. "GOES-16 is the biggest change in weather technology since the implementation of Doppler radar. We've been sharing some of the test data on social media. Now we're one of the first to show GOES-16 data on TV."

Data is updated every five minutes, which creates a very smooth animation and allows ABC13 meteorologists to identify storms that are developing, strengthening and weakening.

During severe weather the satellite can update every 30 seconds.

In addition to cloud cover, GOES-16 satellite can identify smoke, dust, water vapor, and lightning.

The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral on Nov. 19, 2016.

It is currently going through testing and calibration and will be in widespread use later this year.

NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan referred to it as the next generation of weather satellites.

"GOES-16 will strengthen NOAA's ability to issue life-saving forecasts and warnings and make the United States an even stronger, more resilient weather-ready nation," said Sullivan.