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Tropical Cyclone 03B
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone 03B |
| Description |
Cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea are rare, but not unheard of. Two tropical cyclones in the space of a month, on the other hand, is quite rare indeed. Unlike its predecessor, Tropical Cyclone Gonu, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14295 ] Cyclone 03B originated on the opposite side of the Indian Peninsula in the Bay of Bengal. At 11:10 a.m. local time (06:10 UTC) on June 25, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone 03B was reforming in the Arabian Sea south of the Pakistan coast after having crossed over India. The storm system has a discernible spiraling shape, but does not appear well-formed in this image. The storm has no distinct eye, suggesting that it was not particularly well organized. At the time, sustained winds were measured at 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The storm flooded India's Andhra Pradesh province, resulting in 45 deaths, according to Weather Underground. [ http://www.wunderground.com/ ] It also caused flooding and wind damage in Karachi, Pakistan, where the death toll was around 200, according to BBC News. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/ ] After crossing land, the storm reached the Arabian Sea and began to reform. As of June 26, forecasts were calling for the storm to gain some organization and power, skirt the Pakistan coast, and make landfall again somewhere near the border between Iran and Pakistan. Storm surge from Cyclone 03B was predicted to be moderately high, even though the storm was not strong, since the offshore waters are shallow, similar to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Because these kinds of storms are rare in the area, coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to storm surge damage. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone 03B KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/ cyc03b_tmo_2007158.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Dora
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Tropical Cyclone Dora |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Dora was spinning down on the morning of February 5, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image. At the time, Dora had winds of 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour or 65 knots) with gusts to 148 km/h (92 mph, 80 knots), not an extremely powerful storm as far as cyclones go. Dora formed on January 28 over the mid-Indian Ocean, and developed into a strong cyclone with winds of 213 km/hr (132 mph, 115 knots), equivalent to a Category four hurricane, by February 3. Though the storm had weakened from its peak strength when MODIS captured this photo-like image, Dora retained the tightly wound, circular shape of a well-formed cyclone. On February 6, Dora was expected to continue to degrade as it moved south over cooler waters. It was not forecast to threaten land. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Favio
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Favio |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Favio came ashore on the coast of Mozambique in the morning of February 22, 2007. At the time it crossed the shoreline, Favio had lost some strength from its peak the previous day, but still had extremely powerful winds that measured around 203 kilometers per hour (126 miles per hour), according to the Tropical Storm Risk.com [ http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com/ ] and Reuters AlertNet. [ http://www.alertnet.org/ ] The cyclone, the strongest recorded storm to hit Mozambique, was heading directly towards the Zambezi River valley region. This region suffered heavy rains associated with the onset of the monsoon, and severe flooding along the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14115 ] in mid-February killed dozens of people and forced more than a hundred thousand people to evacuate, according to reports [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6YMDSC?OpenDocument ] from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies posted online by ReliefWeb. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm ] This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on February 22, 2007, at 10:20 a.m. local time (8:20 UTC), just as the storm was coming ashore. The eye of the storm was just off the coast as MODIS observed the cyclone. Favio had the recognizable shape of a mature, southern hemisphere tropical cyclone, with spiral arms showing its clockwise rotation, and a well-defined eye with strong eyewall (inner ring) clouds. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full 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/?2007053-0222/Favio.A2007053.0820 ] You can also download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Favio KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Feb2007/ Favio.A2007053.0820.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] 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 Favio
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Favio |
| Description |
Category 4-strength Cyclone Favio was closing the gap between Madagascar and mainland Africa on February 21, 2007, preparing to strike Mozambique in coming days. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite shows Favio stretched across the Mozambique Channel at 9:35 a.m. (local time) Wednesday morning. The outermost bands of clouds on the western side of the storm were already brushing the coast of Inhambane province in southern Mozambique. A thick ring of "boiling" clouds surrounds the eye of the storm. Favio had weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm between the time the image was acquired and this posting. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast issued at 12:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. Mozambique local time) on February 21 indicated that Favio had sustained wind speeds of 100 knots (about 185 kilometers/hour, 115 miles/hour), with gusts up to 125 knots (about 232 kilometers/hour, 144 miles/hour). The forecast called for the storm to weaken before making landfall within 24 hours, but the impacts were still expected to be severe. The country was already water-logged from heavy rains associated with the onset of the monsoon, and severe flooding along the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14115 ] in mid-February killed dozens of people and forced more than a hundred thousand people to evacuate, according to reports [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6YMDSC?OpenDocument ] from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies posted online by ReliefWeb. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm ] The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. You can also download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Favio KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Feb2007/Favio.A2007052.0735.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] 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 Favio
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Favio |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Favio came ashore on the coast of Mozambique on the morning of February 22, 2007. At the time it crossed the shoreline, Favio had lost some strength from its peak the previous day, but still had extremely powerful winds. The cyclone continued to weaken as it passed over land, becoming a tropical depression. As of 8:00 a.m. local time (0600 UTC), winds were down to 60 kilometers per hour (38 miles per hour), according to the South African Weather Service. [ http://www.weathersa.co.za/ ] 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 February 23, 2007, at 1:45 p.m. local time (11:45 UTC), as the tropical depression was crossing into Zimbabwe. The storm still has a distinct balled-up form left over from its cyclone state the previous day, but once over land, the strong circular eye and powerful eyewall storms typical of a cylone were gone. As it traveled farther inland towards the Zambezi River valley, the storm brought heavy rains to Zimbabwe. This region had already suffered from heavy rains associated with the onset of the monsoon, and severe flooding along the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14115 ] in mid-February killed dozens of people and forced more than a hundred thousand people to evacuate, according to reports [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-6YMDSC?OpenDocument ] from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies posted online by ReliefWeb. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc100?OpenForm ] There had been widespread additional evacuations ahead of Cyclone Favio's arrival. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Favio KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Feb2007/favio_amo_2007054.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone George
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone George |
| Description |
After crossing Australia's Northern Territory and triggering floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14159 ], Cyclone George skimmed along the Australian coast, steadily gaining power. By the time the storm took a sharp turn towards shore and headed towards Port Hedland in northern Western Australia on March 8, 2007, the cyclone packed sustained winds of 200 kilometers per hour (127 miles per hour, 110 knots), with gusts to 250 km/hr (155 mph, 135 knots). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on March 8 at 10:55 a.m. local time (1:55 UTC). Though the storm lacks a distinct eye, the dense concentration of swirling clouds attests to the storm's power. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full 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/?2007067-0308/George.A2007067.0155 ] You can also download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone George KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Mar2007/George.A2007067.0155.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] 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 Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
A storm with near-perfect symmetry and a well-defined eye hovering over the warm waters of the Caribbean or in the South Pacific is not unusual, but Tropical Cyclone Gonu showed up in a rather different place: the Arabian Sea. Though rare, cyclones like Gonu are not unheard of in the northern Indian Ocean basin. Most cyclones that form in the region form over the Bay of Bengal, east of India. Those that take shape over the Arabian Sea, west of the Indian peninsula, tend to be small and fizzle out before coming ashore. Cyclone Gonu was a rare exception. According to storm statistics maintained on Unisys Weather, [ http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/ ] the last storm of this size to form over the Arabian Sea was Cyclone 01A, which tracked northwest along the coast of India between May 21 and May 28, 2001. Unlike Gonu's forecasted track, Cyclone 01A's path never brought it ashore. At 9:35 a.m. local time (06:35 UTC) on June 5, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was approaching the northeastern shore of Oman. At this time, the powerful storm had reached a dangerous Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] status. Sustained winds were measured at 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] at the time of this MODIS image. The storm has the hallmark tightly wound arms that spiral around a well-defined, circular eye. The eye is surrounded by a wall of towering clouds that cast shadows on the surrounding clouds. Called hot towers, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17662 ], these clouds are a sign of the powerful uplift that feeds the storm. The symmetrical spirals, distinct eye, and towering clouds are all features regularly seen in satellite images of other particularly powerful cyclones, which are also known as typhoons or hurricanes when they form in other parts of the world. The forecast as of June 5 called for the storm to graze Oman's shore, but with the center of the storm staying offshore in the Gulf of Oman. The storm's first landfall was predicted to be in southern Iran. The cooler water along the Oman coast was expected to rob the storm of some of its intensity, and it was predicted to strike the Iranian coast at around Category 1 strength. If, however, the forecast track is not quite right and the storm stays farther from shore over shallower and much warmer waters in the Gulf of Oman, it could make landfall while still packing Category 3 winds. In either case, communities along the Gulf of Oman are poorly prepared for hurricanes, given their rarity, and severe damage to cities and oil platforms is possible due to winds and storm surge. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full 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/?2007156-0605/Gonu.A2007156.0635 ] You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Gonu KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/Gonu.A2007156.0635.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] 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 Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
A cyclonic storm like Tropical Cyclone Gonu might not seem an odd sight until you consider that Gonu is heading northwest into the Gulf of Oman. The most recent storm of this magnitude to hit the Sultanate of Oman was in 1977, according to AlJazerra.net (English language). [ http://english.aljazeera.net/English/ ] Given the rarity of these storms in the area, many shore facilities were never constructed to deal with the severe winds, strong rains, and high storm surge. At 10:15 a.m. local time (07:15 UTC) on June 6, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was grazing the gulf shore of Oman. At this time, the powerful storm had lost considerable power and was considered a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] cyclone. Sustained winds were measured at 140 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The satellite image shows Gonu bringing rain to both Oman and Iran even as the storm center remains offshore in the Gulf of Oman. Hemmed in by hot desert lands and mountains on both sides of the Gulf, Gonu was predicted to continue to move up the Gulf and lose power before making landfall in southeastern Iran. Because such storms are virtually unheard of in this part of the world, authorities treated the storm with considerable caution: government offices in Oman and most private businesses declared a holiday from June 5 until June 9. They recommended people stay in their homes as much as possible and stock basic supplies and emergency needs, according to Middle East Online. [ http://www.middle-east-online.com ] Residents in low-lying coastal areas in southeastern Iran were also being evacuated, while the fishing fleet in neighboring Pakistan was ordered to stay in as waves battered the shores. Gonu, however, did not appear poised to reach the Straits of Hormuz, and oil shipping from the Persian Gulf had not been significantly disrupted as of June 6, according to a number of news services. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Kara
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Kara |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Kara was poised just offshore of the Pilbara coast of Western Australia on March 27, 2007. Kara was not a particularly severe storm, but was prepared to hit the same area that powerful Cyclone George [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14163 ] and Category 2 Cyclone Jacob [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14162 ] hit two weeks earlier. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on March 27, 2007, at 10:25 a.m. local time (02:25 UTC). The storm was a tropical cyclone with a circular shape and distinct eye at its center. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] Cyclone Kara had sustained winds of 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour) near the time this image was acquired. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full 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/?2007086-0327/Kara.A2007086.0225 ] You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Kara KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Mar2007/kara_tmo_2007086.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] 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 Sidr
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr was continuing its northward progress over the Bay of Bengal on November 14, 2007. It was moving north toward the Mouths of the Ganges at a speed of 13 kilometers per hour (8 miles per hour), and winds in the storm system were raging at 220 km/hr (140 mph) near the storm's center, making it a Category 4 strength [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] tropical cyclone. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image at 10:15 a.m. local time (4:45 UTC) on November 14, 2007. Tropical Cyclone Sidr appears here as a well-developed and distinct ball of circling clouds, the storm has a distinct but cloudy eye at its center. An extended arm of clouds reaches northward from the storm across Bangladesh, bringing the influence of the storm onshore already even though it was hundreds of kilometers to the south. Western Bangladesh, where the storm appeared to be headed as of November 15, is the most heavily populated low-lying area in the world, with a history of severe causalities from previous storms due to both direct flooding and storm surge. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] was predicting that the storm would weaken, but still make landfall with hurricane-force winds. In 1970, a Category 3 storm that made landfall in the same vicinity caused 300,000 deaths and was one of the most deadly natural disasters in modern history. Another 138,000 people perished in 1991 from another such cyclone. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Sidr
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr was gathering strength when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this photo-like image on November 12, 2007. The storm's swirling clouds straddle the center of the Bay of Bengal, with the eastern shores of Sri Lanka and India forming the left edge of the image. At the time that this image was taken, Sidr was relatively small, with sustained winds estimated at 100 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour or 55 knots), the equivalent of an Atlantic tropical storm. Despite its small size, Sidr is well-formed, with a dark spot near the center where an eye may be developing surrounded by tight bands of clouds. On November 12, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] forecast that Sidr would grow to the equivalent of a Category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 170 km/hr (100 mph or 90 knots) by November 14. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Tropical Cyclone Sidr
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr |
| Description |
Tropical Cyclone Sidr had been moving slowly north and gathering power as it drew closer to the coastline around the Mouth of the Ganges. However, in the hours before landfall, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] the powerful Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] cyclone lost strength and picked up its speed. As of November 16, peak winds had fallen to 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour) and the storm was moving inland at 50 km/hr (30 mph). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image at 11:35 a.m. local time (6:05 UTC) on November 16, 2007. The storm appears to have no particular organization, dramatically different from just one day earlier, when it was an unmistakably powerful cyclone. As of November 16, sources such as the International Herald Tribune were reporting casualties from Sidr of perhaps 200 people in Bangladesh. India was largely spared from the storm. Evacuations had removed hundreds of thousands of people in both countries ahead of the storm. The storm surge and rain did flood many areas, overwhelming some protective dikes, burying fields under water, and washing away many mud homes in the coastal area. Power lines were toppled in many areas, and all of Bangladesh was without power for several hours during the height of the storm. Western Bangladesh, where the storm made landfall, is the most heavily populated low-lying area in the world, with a history of severe causalities from previous storms due to both direct flooding and storm surge. In 1970, a Category 3 storm that made landfall in the same vicinity caused 300,000 deaths and was one of the most deadly natural disasters in modern history. Another 138,000 people perished in 1991 from a similar cyclone. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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