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Tropical Cyclone 01A
Title Tropical Cyclone 01A
Description Cyclone 01A hovered just off the west coast of India this past week slowly drifting parallel to the coastline without coming ashore. It began as a weak depression that formed on the 4th of May 2004 about 200 km east of the southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea. The system strengthened into a tropical storm the next day on the 5th with winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 7th and 8th, the stormed reached its peak intensity of just 45 knots (52 mph) before weakening back into a depression on the 10th. The storm was responsible for 5 deaths in India from heavy rains. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several images of the cyclone as it drifted northward in the western Indian Ocean. The first image taken at 21:25 UTC on 5 May 2004 shows rainfall within the storm as seen by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This first image shows that the rain field associated with the storm is very asymmetrical with almost all of the rain falling west of the center, which lacks an eyewall, a characteristic of immature or weaker systems. Several patches of intense rain (darker reds) are embedded within a broad shield of moderate (green) to light rain (blue). The second image taken at 11:20 UTC on the 7th shows the system has not become any better organized. The area of heavy rain (dark red) is consolidated into one band, but there is still no evidence of an eyewall. In the final snapshot at 11:07 UTC on the 9th, the center is now completely devoid of rainfall without which the storm cannot survive as tropical cyclones rely on heat released from the conversion of water vapor to fuel their circulations. This image does reveal that the system is still capable of producing heavy rains over land well away from the center as shown by the dark red areas over the coastline. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. The last image gives MPA rainfall totals for the period 3-11 May 2004 associated with the passage of the cyclone. The highest amounts on the order of 12 inches fell over water (dark red areas). However, some coastal areas in the state of Gujarat did receive up to 9 inches locally (red areas) with several areas receiving between 3 and 6 inches (green areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone 01A
Title Tropical Cyclone 01A
Description Cyclone 01A hovered just off the west coast of India this past week slowly drifting parallel to the coastline without coming ashore. It began as a weak depression that formed on the 4th of May 2004 about 200 km east of the southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea. The system strengthened into a tropical storm the next day on the 5th with winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 7th and 8th, the stormed reached its peak intensity of just 45 knots (52 mph) before weakening back into a depression on the 10th. The storm was responsible for 5 deaths in India from heavy rains. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several images of the cyclone as it drifted northward in the western Indian Ocean. The first image taken at 21:25 UTC on 5 May 2004 shows rainfall within the storm as seen by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This first image shows that the rain field associated with the storm is very asymmetrical with almost all of the rain falling west of the center, which lacks an eyewall, a characteristic of immature or weaker systems. Several patches of intense rain (darker reds) are embedded within a broad shield of moderate (green) to light rain (blue). The second image taken at 11:20 UTC on the 7th shows the system has not become any better organized. The area of heavy rain (dark red) is consolidated into one band, but there is still no evidence of an eyewall. In the final snapshot at 11:07 UTC on the 9th, the center is now completely devoid of rainfall without which the storm cannot survive as tropical cyclones rely on heat released from the conversion of water vapor to fuel their circulations. This image does reveal that the system is still capable of producing heavy rains over land well away from the center as shown by the dark red areas over the coastline. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. The last image gives MPA rainfall totals for the period 3-11 May 2004 associated with the passage of the cyclone. The highest amounts on the order of 12 inches fell over water (dark red areas). However, some coastal areas in the state of Gujarat did receive up to 9 inches locally (red areas) with several areas receiving between 3 and 6 inches (green areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone 01A
Title Tropical Cyclone 01A
Description Cyclone 01A hovered just off the west coast of India this past week slowly drifting parallel to the coastline without coming ashore. It began as a weak depression that formed on the 4th of May 2004 about 200 km east of the southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea. The system strengthened into a tropical storm the next day on the 5th with winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 7th and 8th, the stormed reached its peak intensity of just 45 knots (52 mph) before weakening back into a depression on the 10th. The storm was responsible for 5 deaths in India from heavy rains. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several images of the cyclone as it drifted northward in the western Indian Ocean. The first image taken at 21:25 UTC on 5 May 2004 shows rainfall within the storm as seen by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This first image shows that the rain field associated with the storm is very asymmetrical with almost all of the rain falling west of the center, which lacks an eyewall, a characteristic of immature or weaker systems. Several patches of intense rain (darker reds) are embedded within a broad shield of moderate (green) to light rain (blue). The second image taken at 11:20 UTC on the 7th shows the system has not become any better organized. The area of heavy rain (dark red) is consolidated into one band, but there is still no evidence of an eyewall. In the final snapshot at 11:07 UTC on the 9th, the center is now completely devoid of rainfall without which the storm cannot survive as tropical cyclones rely on heat released from the conversion of water vapor to fuel their circulations. This image does reveal that the system is still capable of producing heavy rains over land well away from the center as shown by the dark red areas over the coastline. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. The last image gives MPA rainfall totals for the period 3-11 May 2004 associated with the passage of the cyclone. The highest amounts on the order of 12 inches fell over water (dark red areas). However, some coastal areas in the state of Gujarat did receive up to 9 inches locally (red areas) with several areas receiving between 3 and 6 inches (green areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone 01A
Title Tropical Cyclone 01A
Description Cyclone 01A hovered just off the west coast of India this past week slowly drifting parallel to the coastline without coming ashore. It began as a weak depression that formed on the 4th of May 2004 about 200 km east of the southwest coast of India in the Laccadive Sea. The system strengthened into a tropical storm the next day on the 5th with winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 7th and 8th, the stormed reached its peak intensity of just 45 knots (52 mph) before weakening back into a depression on the 10th. The storm was responsible for 5 deaths in India from heavy rains. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several images of the cyclone as it drifted northward in the western Indian Ocean. The first image taken at 21:25 UTC on 5 May 2004 shows rainfall within the storm as seen by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This first image shows that the rain field associated with the storm is very asymmetrical with almost all of the rain falling west of the center, which lacks an eyewall, a characteristic of immature or weaker systems. Several patches of intense rain (darker reds) are embedded within a broad shield of moderate (green) to light rain (blue). The second image taken at 11:20 UTC on the 7th shows the system has not become any better organized. The area of heavy rain (dark red) is consolidated into one band, but there is still no evidence of an eyewall. In the final snapshot at 11:07 UTC on the 9th, the center is now completely devoid of rainfall without which the storm cannot survive as tropical cyclones rely on heat released from the conversion of water vapor to fuel their circulations. This image does reveal that the system is still capable of producing heavy rains over land well away from the center as shown by the dark red areas over the coastline. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. The last image gives MPA rainfall totals for the period 3-11 May 2004 associated with the passage of the cyclone. The highest amounts on the order of 12 inches fell over water (dark red areas). However, some coastal areas in the state of Gujarat did receive up to 9 inches locally (red areas) with several areas receiving between 3 and 6 inches (green areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone 01B
Title Tropical Cyclone 01B
Description During the past few days (May 15-19, 2003) Tropical Cyclone 01B developed in the Indian Ocean and achieved hurricane status for a few hours. However, the storm has produced copious amounts of rainfall leading to a large loss of life in Sri Lanka. The heavy rain accumulation, exceeding nine inches, is shown in the accompanying image. The rain accumulation map was produced using the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA's TRMM or Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission features a spaceborne weather radar built by the Japanese space agency NASDA. In operation for five years, TRMM has provided unprecedented views of tropical rain events around the globe, and now also provides information on flash flood potential (accessed by visiting the TRMM website at trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov). In this image, note the huge rainfall footprint produced by Tropical Cyclone 01B as it intensified over the Bay of Bengal. At first, it would appear that the isolated rainfall pocket located over Sri Lanka bears little relation to the burgeoning tropical storm. However, there is evidence to suggest that the rainstorms that deluged Sri Lanka were associated with an outer "feeder band" of moisture entering the tropical cyclone from the southwest. This image was generated by Hal Pierce of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Tropical Cyclone Ami
Title Tropical Cyclone Ami
Description Cyclone Ami was born in south Pacific waters as part of a vigorous "twin cyclone" system straddling the equator. Twin cyclones are occasionally spawned by the Tropical Intraseasonal Oscillation as it moves eastward out of the Indian Ocean and toward the International Dateline. This image of the central Pacific shows the rain accumulation from these two cyclones. The long trail of heavy rain oriented from north to south was produced by Cyclone Ami. The northern vortex of the pair, yet to be assigned an official name, was being monitored for development as it moves into the open waters of the northwestern Pacific. This TRMM image and those of other extreme events can be found at the TRMM website trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov. Image visualization courtesy of Hal Pierce, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Tropical Cyclone Favio
Title Tropical Cyclone Favio
Description ) satellite on February 20 and February 22, 2007. TRMM was placed into its low-earth orbit in November 1997 to measure rainfall from space, however, it has also served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the open ocean. The images show the rainfall intensity. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM shows that Favio was a well-organized storm on February 20 (top) with a central eye (dark blue area in the center) surrounded by an eyewall containing heavy rainfall (dark red areas). The storm is also very symmetric with good "banding" in the rain field, demonstrated by the tightly curved bands of moderate rain (green areas) spiraling in towards the center. These features are the hallmarks of a mature, intense tropical cyclone. Though the cyclone did not strike Madagascar, the red areas indicate that it dumped heavy rains on the southern tip of the island. As Favio crossed the Mozambique Channel it reached a peak intensity of 232 kilometers per hour (144 miles per hour, or 125 knots) on the early morning of February 22, making it a Category 4 storm. The cyclone then weakened slightly before slamming into southern Mozambique with sustained winds estimated at 204 km/hr (127 mph, 110 knots). TRMM took the lower image on February 22 soon after Favio made landfall in Mozambique. The image shows that although the eye was not as well defined as in the earlier image, the circulation is still robust, the spiral rainbands (green arcs) are still well defined. Maximum sustained winds were still estimated to be 167 km/hr (114 mph, 90 knots) at the time of this image but quickly diminished thereafter. The bands of heavy rain shown in this image triggered floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14146 ] along rivers in Central Mozambique. Unfortunately for Mozambique, the storm-induced floods follow additional serious flooding on the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14125 ] to the north. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)., These images track Cyclone Favio as it brushed the southern tip of the island of Madagascar, and then continued on to Mozambique. The storm came ashore over southern Mozambique on February 22, 2007, as a strong Category 3 storm. As of February 28, news reports had attributed four fatalities to the storm in Vilanculos, a coastal tourist town where the storm made landfall. Favio began as a tropical disturbance on February 11, 2007, in the central Indian Ocean south of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Slow to intensify, the system finally became a tropical storm three days later on February 14. Favio remained a tropical storm for the next several days as it made its way through the west-central Indian Ocean east of Mauritius, and finally began to intensify as it neared Madagascar. It became a Category 1 cyclone on February 19. As it rounded the southern tip of Madagascar, Favio continued to intensify and reached Category 3 intensity on February 20. The cyclone then took a more northwesterly path as it entered the Mozambique Channel. These images of the storm were taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]
Tropical Cyclone Favio
Title Tropical Cyclone Favio
Description ) satellite on February 20 and February 22, 2007. TRMM was placed into its low-earth orbit in November 1997 to measure rainfall from space, however, it has also served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the open ocean. The images show the rainfall intensity. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM shows that Favio was a well-organized storm on February 20 (top) with a central eye (dark blue area in the center) surrounded by an eyewall containing heavy rainfall (dark red areas). The storm is also very symmetric with good "banding" in the rain field, demonstrated by the tightly curved bands of moderate rain (green areas) spiraling in towards the center. These features are the hallmarks of a mature, intense tropical cyclone. Though the cyclone did not strike Madagascar, the red areas indicate that it dumped heavy rains on the southern tip of the island. As Favio crossed the Mozambique Channel it reached a peak intensity of 232 kilometers per hour (144 miles per hour, or 125 knots) on the early morning of February 22, making it a Category 4 storm. The cyclone then weakened slightly before slamming into southern Mozambique with sustained winds estimated at 204 km/hr (127 mph, 110 knots). TRMM took the lower image on February 22 soon after Favio made landfall in Mozambique. The image shows that although the eye was not as well defined as in the earlier image, the circulation is still robust, the spiral rainbands (green arcs) are still well defined. Maximum sustained winds were still estimated to be 167 km/hr (114 mph, 90 knots) at the time of this image but quickly diminished thereafter. The bands of heavy rain shown in this image triggered floods [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14146 ] along rivers in Central Mozambique. Unfortunately for Mozambique, the storm-induced floods follow additional serious flooding on the Zambezi River [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14125 ] to the north. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)., These images track Cyclone Favio as it brushed the southern tip of the island of Madagascar, and then continued on to Mozambique. The storm came ashore over southern Mozambique on February 22, 2007, as a strong Category 3 storm. As of February 28, news reports had attributed four fatalities to the storm in Vilanculos, a coastal tourist town where the storm made landfall. Favio began as a tropical disturbance on February 11, 2007, in the central Indian Ocean south of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Slow to intensify, the system finally became a tropical storm three days later on February 14. Favio remained a tropical storm for the next several days as it made its way through the west-central Indian Ocean east of Mauritius, and finally began to intensify as it neared Madagascar. It became a Category 1 cyclone on February 19. As it rounded the southern tip of Madagascar, Favio continued to intensify and reached Category 3 intensity on February 20. The cyclone then took a more northwesterly path as it entered the Mozambique Channel. These images of the storm were taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]
Tropical Cyclone Fay
Title Tropical Cyclone Fay
Description After meandering off the coast of western Australia, Cyclone Fay finally came ashore back on the 27th of March 2004 as a powerful Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph). The cyclone quickly weakened over land. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several unique images of Fay along its path (please, see the previous TRMM story on Cyclone Fay). The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. MPA rainfall totals are shown for western Australia and the eastern Indian Ocean in association with the passage of Fay for the period 20 to 27 March 2004. The heaviest rainfall totals are by far and away located over the eastern Indian Ocean. The darker red areas show rainfall totals due to Fay on the order of 12 inches in this region. The heaviest totals appear to the right of the storm track (shown by the white storm symbols plotted every 06Z). These heavy amounts are the product of an intense rain band located well to the north west of the center that was observed by TRMM starting back on the 19th of March. The highest totals over land appear right along the coast and are on the order of 3 to 5 inches (green areas). A swath of 1 to 2 inch amounts (blue areas) extends inland over Western Australia. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Fay
Title Tropical Cyclone Fay
Description After meandering off the coast of western Australia, Cyclone Fay finally came ashore back on the 27th of March 2004 as a powerful Category 4 cyclone with maximum sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph). The cyclone quickly weakened over land. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured several unique images of Fay along its path (please, see the previous TRMM story on Cyclone Fay). The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. MPA rainfall totals are shown for western Australia and the eastern Indian Ocean in association with the passage of Fay for the period 20 to 27 March 2004. The heaviest rainfall totals are by far and away located over the eastern Indian Ocean. The darker red areas show rainfall totals due to Fay on the order of 12 inches in this region. The heaviest totals appear to the right of the storm track (shown by the white storm symbols plotted every 06Z). These heavy amounts are the product of an intense rain band located well to the north west of the center that was observed by TRMM starting back on the 19th of March. The highest totals over land appear right along the coast and are on the order of 3 to 5 inches (green areas). A swath of 1 to 2 inch amounts (blue areas) extends inland over Western Australia. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Title Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Description Gafilo struck the northeast coast of Madagascar early on the morning of the 7th of March 2004 (LST) as a very powerful Category 5 cyclone with winds estimated at 160 mph. So far, at least 25 people have been reported dead on Madagascar not counting a further 111 feared drowned on a ferry that was lost in the storm and reported to have capsized in heavy seas by two survivors. After making landfall on the northeast coast, Gafilo cut across the northern part of the island moving southwest leaving as many as 100,000 people homeless in its wake before re-emerging over the waters of the Mozambique Channel on March 8th. Out over the channel, Gafilo recurved heading southeast. It briefly regaining Category 1 strength over open waters. The storm then made landfall again on the night of the 9th along the southwest coast of Madagascar and crossed the island yet again, this time over the southern part of the island. Gafilo is finally forecast to exit the southeast coastline of Madagascar on the evening of the 11th and head back out into the western Indian ocean as a weak tropical storm. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. MPA rainfall totals are shown for the period 3-10 March 2004 for the area over and around Madagascar. Cyclone symbols mark the 06Z positions of Gafilo along its path. As the storm approaches Madagascar from the east, the heaviest rainfall totals, on the order of 12 inches (orange-red areas), appear close to the center of the storm track. As the systems crosses land, the higher totals appear to the right of the storm track and are on the order of 15 inches of rain (red area) over the northern tip of Madagascar. The heaviest totals of up to 20 inches (darkest reds) stretch from the central Mozambique Channel eastward to along the northwest coastline of Madagascar. These totals appear to be associated with an intense, east-west oriented rainband that was observed by TRMM on March 8 (see the previous story on Gafilo) well north of the storm's center. Rainfall totals are significantly less though still on the order of 4 to 8 inches (green areas) over southern and central Madagascar. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Title Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Description Gafilo struck the northeast coast of Madagascar early on the morning of the 7th of March 2004 (LST) as a very powerful Category 5 cyclone with winds estimated at 160 mph. So far, at least 25 people have been reported dead on Madagascar not counting a further 111 feared drowned on a ferry that was lost in the storm and reported to have capsized in heavy seas by two survivors. After making landfall on the northeast coast, Gafilo cut across the northern part of the island moving southwest leaving as many as 100,000 people homeless in its wake before re-emerging over the waters of the Mozambique Channel on March 8th. Out over the channel, Gafilo recurved heading southeast. It briefly regaining Category 1 strength over open waters. The storm then made landfall again on the night of the 9th along the southwest coast of Madagascar and crossed the island yet again, this time over the southern part of the island. Gafilo is finally forecast to exit the southeast coastline of Madagascar on the evening of the 11th and head back out into the western Indian ocean as a weak tropical storm. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center monitors rainfall over the global tropics. MPA rainfall totals are shown for the period 3-10 March 2004 for the area over and around Madagascar. Cyclone symbols mark the 06Z positions of Gafilo along its path. As the storm approaches Madagascar from the east, the heaviest rainfall totals, on the order of 12 inches (orange-red areas), appear close to the center of the storm track. As the systems crosses land, the higher totals appear to the right of the storm track and are on the order of 15 inches of rain (red area) over the northern tip of Madagascar. The heaviest totals of up to 20 inches (darkest reds) stretch from the central Mozambique Channel eastward to along the northwest coastline of Madagascar. These totals appear to be associated with an intense, east-west oriented rainband that was observed by TRMM on March 8 (see the previous story on Gafilo) well north of the storm's center. Rainfall totals are significantly less though still on the order of 4 to 8 inches (green areas) over southern and central Madagascar. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Title Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Description The island of Madagascar, which was hit by Cyclone Elita back on the 29th of January, recently suffered a direct hit from Gafilo, a far more powerful storm rated as an intense Category 5 Cyclone at the time it made landfall on the island's northeast coastline. So far Gafilo has left 7 dead, 18 missing and up to 100,000 homeless on Madagascar. Gafilo began as a tropical depression back on the 29th of February 2004 in the central Indian Ocean south of Deigo Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Two days later on the 2nd of March, it became a tropical storm and continued moving west. Gafilo strengthened into a Category 1 cyclone the next day on the 3rd, and March 4th saw Gafilo continuing to intensify with winds increasing to 85 knots (98 mph) as estimated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 5th, Gafilo began a cycle of rapid deepening with winds increasing to 125 knots (144 mph) making it a major Category 4 cyclone. It was now moving west-southwest headed straight for Madagascar. The next day, on the 6th of March 2004, Gafilo struck the northeast coast of Madagascar near to the town of Antalaha as a Category 5 cyclone, the highest possible rating, its sustained winds having further increased to an estimated 140 knots (161 mph). Ninety-five percent of Antalaha was reported destroyed. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured numerous, impressive images of Cyclone Gafilo covering most of it's life cycle as it traversed the western Indian Ocean. The first image (top left) was taken at 8:15 UTC on 4 March 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain rates as seen from above by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). In this first image, TRMM shows Gafilo to have a large, closed eye but only weak (blues) to moderate (green areas) rain rates immediately surround the center. A large rainband with some embedded heavier convection (darker red areas) wraps in towards the eye from the storm's northwest quadrant. At the time, Gafilo was already rated a Category 1 cyclone with winds estimated at 65 knots (75 mph). The next image (top right) taken at 17:10 UTC on March 5 reveals a very different looking Gafilo. The eye has become smaller, and the surrounding eyewall is now composed almost entirely of heavy (reds) to intense (darker reds) rain rates of up to 2-inches per hour. Tropical cyclones act like large heat engines. Their fuel comes from the transformation of water vapor in the atmosphere. As water vapor condenses into the tiny cloud droplets that eventually form the precipitation, heat is released. This heat, known as latent heat, is what drives the storm's circulation. In general, the more heating that occurs, the more intense the storm will, become. This heating is most effective in driving the storm if it is occurs near its center as TRMM shows is the case shown here with Gafilo. At this time, Gafilo was a powerful Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 125 knots (144 mph). The third (bottom left) image was taken at 8:02 UTC March 6th as Gafilo was approaching the coast of Madagascar and shows a tropical cyclone at its most mature, intense stage. The storm now has a very tight, very small eye with a nearly perfectly symmetrical eyewall containing a near-uniform concentric ring of intense rain rates (dark reds). The storm is now at Category 5, and the winds are at 140 knots (161 mph). The final image (bottom right) shows Gafilo in the Mozambique Channel after the storm had crossed the entire northern half of Madagascar. Taken at 7:47 UTC on the 8th, with the circulation having been disrupted by land and topography and its supply of water vapor essentially cutoff, the eye is now totally gone with no visible eyewall present. A large rainband with a broad area of intense (dark reds) to moderate (green areas) rain remains, extending from the central part of the Mozambique Channel eastward into western Madagascar north of the storm's center. Gafilo had now been downgraded to a tropical storm with remaining winds estimated at 55 knots (63 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Title Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Description The island of Madagascar, which was hit by Cyclone Elita back on the 29th of January, recently suffered a direct hit from Gafilo, a far more powerful storm rated as an intense Category 5 Cyclone at the time it made landfall on the island's northeast coastline. So far Gafilo has left 7 dead, 18 missing and up to 100,000 homeless on Madagascar. Gafilo began as a tropical depression back on the 29th of February 2004 in the central Indian Ocean south of Deigo Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Two days later on the 2nd of March, it became a tropical storm and continued moving west. Gafilo strengthened into a Category 1 cyclone the next day on the 3rd, and March 4th saw Gafilo continuing to intensify with winds increasing to 85 knots (98 mph) as estimated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 5th, Gafilo began a cycle of rapid deepening with winds increasing to 125 knots (144 mph) making it a major Category 4 cyclone. It was now moving west-southwest headed straight for Madagascar. The next day, on the 6th of March 2004, Gafilo struck the northeast coast of Madagascar near to the town of Antalaha as a Category 5 cyclone, the highest possible rating, its sustained winds having further increased to an estimated 140 knots (161 mph). Ninety-five percent of Antalaha was reported destroyed. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured numerous, impressive images of Cyclone Gafilo covering most of it's life cycle as it traversed the western Indian Ocean. The first image (top left) was taken at 8:15 UTC on 4 March 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain rates as seen from above by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). In this first image, TRMM shows Gafilo to have a large, closed eye but only weak (blues) to moderate (green areas) rain rates immediately surround the center. A large rainband with some embedded heavier convection (darker red areas) wraps in towards the eye from the storm's northwest quadrant. At the time, Gafilo was already rated a Category 1 cyclone with winds estimated at 65 knots (75 mph). The next image (top right) taken at 17:10 UTC on March 5 reveals a very different looking Gafilo. The eye has become smaller, and the surrounding eyewall is now composed almost entirely of heavy (reds) to intense (darker reds) rain rates of up to 2-inches per hour. Tropical cyclones act like large heat engines. Their fuel comes from the transformation of water vapor in the atmosphere. As water vapor condenses into the tiny cloud droplets that eventually form the precipitation, heat is released. This heat, known as latent heat, is what drives the storm's circulation. In general, the more heating that occurs, the more intense the storm will, become. This heating is most effective in driving the storm if it is occurs near its center as TRMM shows is the case shown here with Gafilo. At this time, Gafilo was a powerful Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 125 knots (144 mph). The third (bottom left) image was taken at 8:02 UTC March 6th as Gafilo was approaching the coast of Madagascar and shows a tropical cyclone at its most mature, intense stage. The storm now has a very tight, very small eye with a nearly perfectly symmetrical eyewall containing a near-uniform concentric ring of intense rain rates (dark reds). The storm is now at Category 5, and the winds are at 140 knots (161 mph). The final image (bottom right) shows Gafilo in the Mozambique Channel after the storm had crossed the entire northern half of Madagascar. Taken at 7:47 UTC on the 8th, with the circulation having been disrupted by land and topography and its supply of water vapor essentially cutoff, the eye is now totally gone with no visible eyewall present. A large rainband with a broad area of intense (dark reds) to moderate (green areas) rain remains, extending from the central part of the Mozambique Channel eastward into western Madagascar north of the storm's center. Gafilo had now been downgraded to a tropical storm with remaining winds estimated at 55 knots (63 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Title Tropical Cyclone Gafilo
Description The island of Madagascar, which was hit by Cyclone Elita back on the 29th of January, recently suffered a direct hit from Gafilo, a far more powerful storm rated as an intense Category 5 Cyclone at the time it made landfall on the island's northeast coastline. So far Gafilo has left 7 dead, 18 missing and up to 100,000 homeless on Madagascar. Gafilo began as a tropical depression back on the 29th of February 2004 in the central Indian Ocean south of Deigo Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago. Two days later on the 2nd of March, it became a tropical storm and continued moving west. Gafilo strengthened into a Category 1 cyclone the next day on the 3rd, and March 4th saw Gafilo continuing to intensify with winds increasing to 85 knots (98 mph) as estimated by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. On the 5th, Gafilo began a cycle of rapid deepening with winds increasing to 125 knots (144 mph) making it a major Category 4 cyclone. It was now moving west-southwest headed straight for Madagascar. The next day, on the 6th of March 2004, Gafilo struck the northeast coast of Madagascar near to the town of Antalaha as a Category 5 cyclone, the highest possible rating, its sustained winds having further increased to an estimated 140 knots (161 mph). Ninety-five percent of Antalaha was reported destroyed. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured numerous, impressive images of Cyclone Gafilo covering most of it's life cycle as it traversed the western Indian Ocean. The first image (top left) was taken at 8:15 UTC on 4 March 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain rates as seen from above by the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). In this first image, TRMM shows Gafilo to have a large, closed eye but only weak (blues) to moderate (green areas) rain rates immediately surround the center. A large rainband with some embedded heavier convection (darker red areas) wraps in towards the eye from the storm's northwest quadrant. At the time, Gafilo was already rated a Category 1 cyclone with winds estimated at 65 knots (75 mph). The next image (top right) taken at 17:10 UTC on March 5 reveals a very different looking Gafilo. The eye has become smaller, and the surrounding eyewall is now composed almost entirely of heavy (reds) to intense (darker reds) rain rates of up to 2-inches per hour. Tropical cyclones act like large heat engines. Their fuel comes from the transformation of water vapor in the atmosphere. As water vapor condenses into the tiny cloud droplets that eventually form the precipitation, heat is released. This heat, known as latent heat, is what drives the storm's circulation. In general, the more heating that occurs, the more intense the storm will, become. This heating is most effective in driving the storm if it is occurs near its center as TRMM shows is the case shown here with Gafilo. At this time, Gafilo was a powerful Category 4 storm with winds estimated at 125 knots (144 mph). The third (bottom left) image was taken at 8:02 UTC March 6th as Gafilo was approaching the coast of Madagascar and shows a tropical cyclone at its most mature, intense stage. The storm now has a very tight, very small eye with a nearly perfectly symmetrical eyewall containing a near-uniform concentric ring of intense rain rates (dark reds). The storm is now at Category 5, and the winds are at 140 knots (161 mph). The final image (bottom right) shows Gafilo in the Mozambique Channel after the storm had crossed the entire northern half of Madagascar. Taken at 7:47 UTC on the 8th, with the circulation having been disrupted by land and topography and its supply of water vapor essentially cutoff, the eye is now totally gone with no visible eyewall present. A large rainband with a broad area of intense (dark reds) to moderate (green areas) rain remains, extending from the central part of the Mozambique Channel eastward into western Madagascar north of the storm's center. Gafilo had now been downgraded to a tropical storm with remaining winds estimated at 55 knots (63 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Manou hits …
Title Tropical Cyclone Manou hits Madagascar
Description This image from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite on May 8, 2003, shows Tropical Cyclone Manou as it made landfall over Madagascar and moved slowly southward along the east coast. In this view, the path of the satellite cuts across Madagascar as a dark gray swath. The outermost part of the swath sweeps out the scanning path of the TRMM Microwave Imager, which detects ice particles in the top of Manou's outer rain bands (shown in yellow). The innermost swath shows rain intensity as measured by the Precipitation Radar, with red colors indicating the heaviest rain rates, in excess of several inches per hour. Note the well-defined eye in the center of the storm and the intense rains in the surrounding eyewall. With the core of Manou's circulation moving along the coastline, vast amounts of rain are being deposited on the nation. The potential for serious flooding over this country is particularly high, as many of the steep mountain slopes are deforested and thus quite prone to runoff and mudslides. Madagascar, located in the Indian Ocean southeast of Africa, averages about four tropical cyclones each rainy season between November and April. The TRMM satellite was jointly built by NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Views of other 2003 and 2002 tropical cyclones can be found at the TRMM Website. These images were created by Hal Pierce of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
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