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Tropical Cyclone Clare
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Tropical Cyclone Clare |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Clare is a moderately strong storm system in the Indian Ocean off the Australian coast. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed the cyclone at 06:05 UTC (2:05 p.m. local time) on January 9, 2006, it was a well-developed system with peak sustained winds of around 100 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour). The cyclone (the local term for a hurricane or typhoon) was about 200 kilometers offshore from Port Hedland in Western Australia, the nearest major city. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Craig Hits
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Tropical Cyclone Craig Hits Northern Territory |
| Description |
Off the north coast of Australia, Tropical Cyclone Craig was poised to cross over from the Timor Sea (left) to the Gulf of Carpentaria (right) in this true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite on March 11, 2003. The center of the storm is located roughly in image center, on the northern tip of Northern Territory. Craig was expected to generally weaken as it moved eastward, but could briefly intensify over the waters of the Gulf before making landfall again on the Cape York Peninsula. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Emma
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Tropical Cyclone Emma |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Emma formed as a low-intensity storm system and built to cyclone strength only briefly. But Emma's brief cyclone status belied its size and rainfall. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument on the Aqua observed the storm system as it was losing strength, and hence its tropical cyclone status, on February 28, 2006, at 5:55 UTC (1:55 p.m. local time). At this time, the cyclone had peak winds of roughly 55 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour). As the image shows, the storm system covered an enormous area, extending over almost the entire extent of Western Australia. With it came heavy rain and substantial flooding to the Pilbara Region, the northwestern corner of Western Australia, where the storm system came ashore. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the Goddard Earth Sciences DAAC. |
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P)
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P) |
| Description |
With sustained winds near 64 km per hour (40 mph), Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P) is located approximately 621 miles east-southeast of Cairns, Australia and is moving towards the north-northeast at 15 km per hour (9 mph) This true-color image of the storm was acquired on March 5, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The high-resolution image available here is 1000 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P)
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P) |
| Description |
With sustained winds near 64 km per hour (40 mph), Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P) is located approximately 632 miles east-southeast of Cairns, Australia and is moving towards the southeast at 22 km per hour (14 mph) This true-color image of the storm was acquired on March 4, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The high-resolution image available here is 1000 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P)
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Tropical Cyclone Erica (22P) |
| Description |
East of Australia in the Pacific Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Erica plowed into the French island of New Caledonia on March 13, 2003, leaving at least one person dead and many others injured. Erica peaked as a Category 5 cyclone on March 12, and as of March 14 had showed rapid weakening to a Category 1 storm. This image of Erica shows the storm's eye northwest of New Caledonia on March 13. The high-resolution image provided above is 1 kilometer per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Fay
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Tropical Cyclone Fay |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Fay churning in the Pacific waters between Australia and Indonesia. At the time this image was captured, Fay was located approximately 175 miles northwest of Kuri Bay and had winds gusting to 150 mph. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Tropical Cyclone Fay
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Tropical Cyclone Fay |
| Description |
Severe Tropical Cyclone Fay continues to skate down the Western Australia coast. The storm has intensified over the past twenty-four hours, and is now expected to move ashore early Saturday morning. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology [ http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW60281.shtml ] has ranked Fay a Category 4 storm, a category reserved for storms with maximum wind gusts ranging between 225 and 279 kilometers per hour (140 and 173 miles per hour). The Bureau expects to see wind gusts up to 235 kilometers per hour when Fay moves ashore. At the time this image was taken, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center [ https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil//jtwc.html ] warned that Fay had winds of 167 kilometers per hour (103 mph) with gusts to 203 kilometers per hour (127 mph). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite captured this image of Fay on March 26, 2004, at 5:55 UTC, 1:55 pm in Western Australia. The high-resolution image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2004086-0326/Fay.A2004086.0555 ], including MODIS? maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone George
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Tropical Cyclone George |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone George came ashore on the remote Pilbara coast of Western Australia on the evening of March 8, 2007, as a very powerful Category 4 storm, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] with wind speeds as high as 275 kilometers per hour (170 miles per hour). According to the online version of the Sydney Morning Herald, the storm was responsible for at least two deaths [ http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/cyclone-george-kills-two-jacob-advances/2007/03/09/1173166991751.html ] and many serious injuries as of March 10. This photo-like image of George was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on March 9, 2007, at 1:25 p.m. local time (05:25 UTC). The storm was still a strong tropical cyclone with a circular shape and distinct eye at its center, despite the fact that the storm had been traveling over land for nearly a day when the image was captured. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] Cyclone George had sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour) near the time this image was acquired. George was the worst storm to hit the area in 30 years, and the government declared the region a disaster area. Rescue and recovery efforts were expected to be complicated by the arrival of Cyclone Jacob. As a Category 2 storm, Jacob was smaller and weaker, and it was not expected to wreak the same kind of destruction as George. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone George KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Mar2007/george_amo_2007068.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.gov/ ] team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Glenda
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Tropical Cyclone Glenda |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Glenda formed off the northwestern coast of Australia on March 27, 2006. The storm quickly built into a powerful and well-defined cyclone during the next day. Powerful winds have whipped up surf along the coastline of Western Australia's Pilbara region, and the storm has brought heavy rains to the islands off the Kimberly coast. As of March 30, 2006, the storm had lost some power and was ranked as a powerful Category 4 storm, after having peaked the previous day. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite on March 30, 2006, at 2:10 p.m. local time (06:10 UTC). It shows Cyclone Glenda as a well-developed storm, sitting just off the coastline about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Port Hedland. Clouds from the storm covered most of the northwest coastline of Western Australia. Sustained, peak winds in the storm system were roughly 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) at this time. The storm's spiraling clouds appear as a nearly solid white disk, and the faint bluish eye is poised just off the coastline. Observations as of 8:00 p.m. Australian Western Standard Time on March 30 were that the storm was crossing the coast near Onslow. The town was bearing the brunt of the worst winds near the cyclone's center. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted that wind speeds could gust as high as 235 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour) as the storm continued to come ashore. Residents in coastal communities who were not yet evacuated were directed to stay put, as the severe winds would make attempting to move extremely dangerous. Australian news services are comparing Glenda to the famous and destructive cyclones Larry and Tracy. Larry struck the Queensland coast just two weeks before Glenda, while Tracy remains imprinted on Australia's memory as the storm that flattened Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974. Glenda is large and more powerful than either of these storms, but striking in a much more sparsely populated area. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21
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Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21S) |
| Description |
With sustained winds near 64 km per hour (40 mph), Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21S) is located approximately 483 miles north of Learmonth, Australia and is moving towards the east at 11 km per hour (7 mph) This true-color image of the storm was acquired on March 4, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The high-resolution image available here is 1000 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21
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| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21S) |
| Description |
With sustained winds near 64 km per hour (40 mph), Tropical Cyclone Harriet (21S) is located approximately 483 miles north of Learmonth, Australia and is moving towards the east at 11 km per hour (7 mph) This true-color image of the storm was acquired on March 4, 2003, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The high-resolution image available here is 1000 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Cyclone Hubert
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Tropical Cyclone Hubert |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Hubert formed off the northwestern coast of Australia on April 5, 2006. Cyclones form in this area from December through April each year. In April, the start of the Asian Monsoon season gradually shifts storm activity northward to bring the cyclone season to a close. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology had been predicting an average season for cyclones in 2006, with about five named storms of which two might come ashore. With the formation of Hubert, the season became slightly more active than predicted. Unlike Cyclone Glenda, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13457 ] which preceded it by a few days, however, Hubert was not a powerful system and was not predicted to develop much before coming ashore. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 6, 2006, at 2:15 p.m. local time (06:15 UTC). Cyclone Hubert at this time had a basic spiral form, but lacked the well-developed eye and tight-wound shape of a powerful storm. Sustained, peak winds in the storm system were roughly 100 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System also provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery?2006096-0406/Hubert.A2006096.0615 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Larry
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Tropical Cyclone Larry |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Larry formed off the northeastern coast of Australia on March 18, 2006. The cyclone gained power rapidly and came ashore on Queensland's eastern coastline, where it hammered beaches with heavy surf, tore roofs off buildings, and perhaps most destructively, flattened trees in banana plantations over a wide area. The Melbourne Age reported estimates that as much as 80 percent of the Australian banana crop has been destroyed. Since many trees have been uprooted, it may be many years before the banana industry recovers. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed the storm at 3:05 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (04:05 UTC) on March 21, 2006, Larry had been downgraded to a tropical depression several hours before, and wind speeds had dropped to below 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour). But while Larry's winds had dropped down to much less destructive levels, the storm system was still bringing significant rainfall in the upper reaches of the Darling River basin, and it retained the classical spiral form of a tropical storm even as it continued to become less organized. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Monica
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Tropical Cyclone Monica |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Monica formed off the northeastern coast of Australia on April 17, 2006. This is the same general area where Cyclone Larry [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13431 ] formed a month earlier. Larry caused devastation to Queenland's coastal communities and destroyed a large fraction of the banana trees in the region. Cyclone Monica was not predicted to be anywhere near as destructive as Larry, and Monica's path across Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland would take it well away from most settled areas. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 19, 2006, at 2:10 p.m. local time (04:10 UTC). Cyclone Monica at this time had a large spiral form, and its well-developed eye was just about to make landfall as the Aqua satellite flew overhead. Sustained peak winds in the storm system were roughly 140 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery//?2006109-0419/Monica.A2006109.0410 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Monica
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Monica |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Monica formed off the northeastern coast of Australia on April 17, 2006. This is the same general area where Cyclone Larry [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13431 ] formed a month earlier. On April 19 and 20, Cyclone Monica crossed Cape York Peninsula with weaker winds than Larry, and its path in northern Queensland took it well away from most settled areas. However, Monica's second act proved quite different. The cyclone gathered size and power in the Gulf of Carpentaria and rebuilt into a Category 5 storm. Monica grazed across the top of the Northern Territory, threatening communities throughout Arnhem Land, Kakadu, and the city of Darwin with heavy rains and very high winds. Many Australian news services were comparing Monica to 1974's powerful Cyclone Tracy which flattened Darwin and was the most devastating storm to ever hit Australia. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on April 24, 2006, at 2:00 p.m. local time (04:30 UTC). Cyclone Monica at this time was an impressively large and powerful storm. Sustained peak winds in the storm system were roughly 285 kilometers per hour (180 miles per hour) around the time the image was captured, and gusts reached as high as 350 km/hr (220 mph). This put Monica firmly in the rare and most powerful, Category 5, rating. The eye of the storm appears like a deep whirlpool hovering just off the Australian coastline. Monica was predicted to come ashore again on the Coburg Peninsula and to strike Darwin on April 25. Ordinarily, Australians observe Anzac Day on April 25 (honoring Australians who served in the First World War), but throughout the Northern Territory, all services and events have been cancelled. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2006114-0424/Monica.A2006114.0430 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Wati
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Tropical Cyclone Wati |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Wati formed northeast of New Caledonia on March 19, 2006. The cyclone gained power gradually and had been heading towards the coast of Australia along a track similar to the very destructive Cyclone Larry, which came ashore in Queensland at the same time Wati was building power. However, forecasts as of March 22 projected that while Wati would continue to gain strength, it would turn sharply south and east, staying well away from the Australian mainland and New Calendonia. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed the storm at 3:05 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (04:05 UTC) on March 21, 2006, Tropical Cyclone Wati was continuing to slowly build power and size. When MODIS made this observation, the storm had peak winds of around 150 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour), and forecasts at the time called for it to continue to gather power for at least another day. It was predicted to slowly weaken as it headed south and traveled over cooler water. In this image, the scattered and unorganized remnants of Tropical Cyclone Larry can still be seen over Queensland, well east of Cyclone Wati. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Wati
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Tropical Cyclone Wati |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Wati formed northeast of New Caledonia on March 19, 2006. The cyclone gained power gradually and had been heading towards the coast of Australia along a track similar to the very destructive Cyclone Larry, which came ashore in Queensland at the same time Wati was building power. However, forecasts as of March 21 projected that while Wati would continue to gain strength, it would turn sharply south and east, staying well away from the Australian mainland and New Calendonia. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed the storm at 2:55 p.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (03:55 UTC) on March 21, 2006, Tropical Cyclone Wati was continuing to slowly build power and size. When MODIS made this observation, the storm had peak winds of around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), and forecasts at the time called for it to continue to gather power for at least another day. It was predcited to slowly weaken as it headed south and traveled over cooler water. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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