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Rare South Atlantic Tropical …
Title Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone
Description During its daytime overpass of the southeast coast of Brazil on March 26, 2004, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured this surprising sight: a tropical cyclone. The South Atlantic is generally not thought of by meteorologists as a place where tropical cyclones can form. The water temperatures are generally too cool and the vertical wind shear too strong. The area is so devoid of tropical storm activity that no government agency has an official warning system for storms there, which is why this storm is unnamed. In this image, the storm is at roughly 28 degrees South Latitude, southeast of the city of Curitaba, which makes a tan splotch against the green vegetation at the top of the image, left of center. According to Dr. Greg Holland, a meteorological researcher currently with Radiosonde North America, it's unlikely—though not impossible—that the storm will make landfall in Brazil given the strong westerly winds that are typical of the region's weather patterns. "There have been reports in the past of storms with tropical characteristics in that region," he says, "so I would be very amazed if this is truly the first cyclone ever. However, it is the first time we have ever had such solid observations of a tropical storm there." According to Holland, wind speed observations from QuickSat on March 26 showed maximum surface winds of about 50 knots, but the satellite wasn't positioned to observe the part of the eye where the highest wind speeds would be expected. So it is possible that the storm is near the 65-knot-wind-threshold for being a Category 1 hurricane. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Rare South Atlantic Tropical …
Title Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone
Description During its daytime overpass of the southeast coast of Brazil on March 26, 2004, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured this surprising sight: a tropical cyclone. The South Atlantic is generally not thought of by meteorologists as a place where tropical cyclones can form. The water temperatures are generally too cool and the vertical wind shear too strong. The area is so devoid of tropical storm activity that no government agency has an official warning system for storms there, which is why this storm is unnamed. In this image, the storm is at roughly 28 degrees South Latitude, southeast of the city of Curitaba, which makes a tan splotch against the green vegetation at the top of the image, left of center. According to Dr. Greg Holland, a meteorological researcher currently with Radiosonde North America, it's unlikely—though not impossible—that the storm will make landfall in Brazil given the strong westerly winds that are typical of the region's weather patterns. "There have been reports in the past of storms with tropical characteristics in that region," he says, "so I would be very amazed if this is truly the first cyclone ever. However, it is the first time we have ever had such solid observations of a tropical storm there." According to Holland, wind speed observations from QuickSat on March 26 showed maximum surface winds of about 50 knots, but the satellite wasn't positioned to observe the part of the eye where the highest wind speeds would be expected. So it is possible that the storm is near the 65-knot-wind-threshold for being a Category 1 hurricane. The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Rare South Atlantic Tropical …
Title Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone
Description (blue areas) with only a few, localized areas of moderate intensity rain (green areas). The next image (top right) taken over two days later at 12:01 UTC on the 26th shows that the storm had become much better organized with an eye apparent in the IR data. A long rainband continues to spiral out from the center extending well out ahead of system as it continues to track off to the west. The PR did not pass over the center in this image, but the TMI indicates a broad, but weak, area of rainfall south of the center. The third image (bottom left) was taken less than a day later at 06:11 UTC on the 27th. The storm now has a clearly defined eye in the IR data, and this time the PR passes directly over the center revealing a nearly complete eyewall with mostly moderate intensity rain (green area) in the southern portion and well-defined spiral banding in the rainfield surrounding the eye with a couple of localized areas of heavy (red areas) rainfall. An estimate by the AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sensor Unit) satellite put the storm's central pressure at 979 mb, equivalent to a minimal Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The final images (bottom right and link) were taken at 11:00 UTC on the 27th of March as the storm was nearing the coast of southern Brazil. It now has a large, well-defined eye and a complete eyewall though rainrates in the eyewall are not particularly intense. The IR image also shows that the storm has a well-developed outflow pattern as cirrus clouds extend out to the west and south of the center. The final image shows a vertical slice through the center. It reveals mainly moderate intensity (yellow areas) rain with an embedded area of heavy rain (red area) in the western eyewall. A single area of intense rain (darker red area) appears in an outer rainband east of the center. For additional images, please visit the TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] web site. 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)., Since the beginning of the satellite era in the mid-1960's, no hurricane has ever been observed in the South Atlantic according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. But on Sunday morning, March 28th, 2004, a storm struck the Brazilian coast that may have changed all of that as forecasters believe it to be the first hurricane ever recorded in that region of the world. The unnamed storm made landfall near the town of Torres just south of the resort town of Laguna in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, about 500 miles south of Rio de Janeiro. There were reports of winds as high as 100 kph (62 mph) in the area. So far reports indicate that 2 persons were killed by the storm with 500 homes destroyed and 20,000 homes damaged leaving 1500 people homeless. The search also goes on for 11 fisherman missing at sea after their 2 boats sank in 13-foot seas off the coast. There is some debate, however, as to whether this storm was actually a true hurricane. Typically, strong wind shear in this part of the South Atlantic makes conditions unfavorable for tropical storm development. However, as has often been seen in the North Atlantic, extratropical systems that move over warm waters can become transformed into tropical systems and take on tropical characteristics. This storm appears to have originated as an extratropical low that moved off the Brazilian coast on the 20th that then became "cutoff", meaning it became separated from the the main air flow, on the 22nd of March. Sea surface temperatures were in the mid-70s (in degrees Fahrenheit), about the minimum needed for tropical storm formation. Meteorologists refer to tropical low pressure centers as warm cores because the air in the center of the circulation is warmer then the surrounding environmental air. Extratropical cyclones are typically cold core. The Brazilian weather service believes that the storm was extratropical in nature. As such a storm had thus far never been recorded in that area, there were no aircraft available to study the storm, leaving satellites to do the job of estimating its strength and structure. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is designed to measure rainfall over the global tropics using the combination of a microwave sensor and the first and only precipitation radar in space. TRMM was able to capture several unique images of the storm as it made its way through the South Atlantic. The first image (top left) was taken at 12:13 UTC on 24 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), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). These rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). It shows a comma-shaped cloud pattern indicative of an area of low pressure, but there is no indication of an eye and rain rates are mostly weak
Rare South Atlantic Tropical …
Title Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone
Description (blue areas) with only a few, localized areas of moderate intensity rain (green areas). The next image (top right) taken over two days later at 12:01 UTC on the 26th shows that the storm had become much better organized with an eye apparent in the IR data. A long rainband continues to spiral out from the center extending well out ahead of system as it continues to track off to the west. The PR did not pass over the center in this image, but the TMI indicates a broad, but weak, area of rainfall south of the center. The third image (bottom left) was taken less than a day later at 06:11 UTC on the 27th. The storm now has a clearly defined eye in the IR data, and this time the PR passes directly over the center revealing a nearly complete eyewall with mostly moderate intensity rain (green area) in the southern portion and well-defined spiral banding in the rainfield surrounding the eye with a couple of localized areas of heavy (red areas) rainfall. An estimate by the AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sensor Unit) satellite put the storm's central pressure at 979 mb, equivalent to a minimal Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The final images (bottom right and link) were taken at 11:00 UTC on the 27th of March as the storm was nearing the coast of southern Brazil. It now has a large, well-defined eye and a complete eyewall though rainrates in the eyewall are not particularly intense. The IR image also shows that the storm has a well-developed outflow pattern as cirrus clouds extend out to the west and south of the center. The final image shows a vertical slice through the center. It reveals mainly moderate intensity (yellow areas) rain with an embedded area of heavy rain (red area) in the western eyewall. A single area of intense rain (darker red area) appears in an outer rainband east of the center. For additional images, please visit the TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] web site. 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)., Since the beginning of the satellite era in the mid-1960's, no hurricane has ever been observed in the South Atlantic according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center. But on Sunday morning, March 28th, 2004, a storm struck the Brazilian coast that may have changed all of that as forecasters believe it to be the first hurricane ever recorded in that region of the world. The unnamed storm made landfall near the town of Torres just south of the resort town of Laguna in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, about 500 miles south of Rio de Janeiro. There were reports of winds as high as 100 kph (62 mph) in the area. So far reports indicate that 2 persons were killed by the storm with 500 homes destroyed and 20,000 homes damaged leaving 1500 people homeless. The search also goes on for 11 fisherman missing at sea after their 2 boats sank in 13-foot seas off the coast. There is some debate, however, as to whether this storm was actually a true hurricane. Typically, strong wind shear in this part of the South Atlantic makes conditions unfavorable for tropical storm development. However, as has often been seen in the North Atlantic, extratropical systems that move over warm waters can become transformed into tropical systems and take on tropical characteristics. This storm appears to have originated as an extratropical low that moved off the Brazilian coast on the 20th that then became "cutoff", meaning it became separated from the the main air flow, on the 22nd of March. Sea surface temperatures were in the mid-70s (in degrees Fahrenheit), about the minimum needed for tropical storm formation. Meteorologists refer to tropical low pressure centers as warm cores because the air in the center of the circulation is warmer then the surrounding environmental air. Extratropical cyclones are typically cold core. The Brazilian weather service believes that the storm was extratropical in nature. As such a storm had thus far never been recorded in that area, there were no aircraft available to study the storm, leaving satellites to do the job of estimating its strength and structure. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is designed to measure rainfall over the global tropics using the combination of a microwave sensor and the first and only precipitation radar in space. TRMM was able to capture several unique images of the storm as it made its way through the South Atlantic. The first image (top left) was taken at 12:13 UTC on 24 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), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). These rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). It shows a comma-shaped cloud pattern indicative of an area of low pressure, but there is no indication of an eye and rain rates are mostly weak
Rare South Atlantic Tropical …
Title Rare South Atlantic Tropical Cyclone
Description The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of a rare tropical cyclone in the South Atlantic ocean just off the coast of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost states. The National Hurricane Center in Miami estimated the storm was a full-fledged, Category I hurricane with central winds between 75 mph and 80 mph (121 kph to 129 kph), making it the first hurricane in the South Atlantic in recorded history. Brazilian scientists however, have disagreed, saying the storm had top winds of 50 mph to 56 mph (80 kph to 90 kph), far below the 75 mph (121 kph) threshold of a hurricane. It is interesting to note that the Brazilian Center for Weather Prediction and Climatic Studies does not operate any anemometers (wind measuring devices) in the area or have any Hurricane Hunter aircraft to fly through the storm. All sides were basing their guesses on satellite data only. Image courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 01A
Title Tropical Cyclone 01A
Description The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone 01A swirling in the Arabia Sea. The center of the storm was close to 250 km south of Veraval and was moving north towards the southern coast of Gujarat state with winds of 60-80 km/hr. Image courtesy Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at 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 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 On May 14, 2003, the MODIS instrument onboard the NASA's Terra satellite captured this bird's-eye view of Tropical Cyclone 01B in the Bay of Bengal. This satellite image reveals that the low-level circulation is fully exposed to the east of the deep convection (dense cloud). 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 Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone 01B
Title Tropical Cyclone 01B
Description On May 11, 2003, the MODIS instrument onboard the NASA's Aqua satellite captured this bird's-eye view of Tropical Cyclone 01B in the Bay of Bengal. 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 Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, 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 03B
Title Tropical Cyclone 03B
Description Tropical Cyclone 03B raked across southeast India?s Andhra Pradesh state early on December 16, 2003. The storm brought 75 mile per hour winds, heavy rain, and cool temperatures, forcing nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes. As of December 17, officials had reported nine cyclone-related deaths, but media reports gave much higher figures. The storm destroyed homes, uprooted trees, and devastated crops. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) image shows the storm as it approaches the Indian coastline on December 15, 2003. The cyclone was the first to hit the state in 18 years. The high-resolution image provided above is at 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2003349-1215/TropicalCyclone03B.A2003349.0520 ], including MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone 03B
Title Tropical Cyclone 03B
Description Tropical Cyclone 03B raked across southeast India?s Andhra Pradesh state early on December 16, 2003. The storm brought 75 mile per hour winds, heavy rain, and cool temperatures, forcing nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes. As of December 17, officials had reported nine cyclone-related deaths, but media reports gave much higher figures. The storm destroyed homes, uprooted trees, and devastated crops. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) image shows the storm as it approaches the Indian coastline on December 15, 2003. The cyclone was the first to hit the state in 18 years. The high-resolution image provided above is at 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2003349-1215/TropicalCyclone03B.A2003349.0520 ], including MODIS' maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone 03B
Title Tropical Cyclone 03B
Description TROPICAL CYCLONE HITS EAST COAST OF INDIA A tropical cyclone (03B) with winds reported of up to 75 mph hit the east coast of India just after midnight local time on the 16th of December 2003. At least 11 people perished in the storm, which brought heavy rains to the region. The cyclone formed in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal. It then moved steadily northwestward before coming ashore at the port city of Vishakhapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite obtained this image of the cyclone just as the center was approaching the coastline. The image was taken at 12:00 UTC on 15 December 2003. It shows the cyclone's rainfall distribution from above as seen by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) in the inner swath and the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) in the outer swath overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) in white. A localized area of intense rain appears near the center in red. However, most of the rainfall is moderate in intensity (green areas) with rain rates on the order of 10 to 20 mm/hr and occurs north of the center. The VIRS data reveal the storm's cirrus shield to be symmetrical with broad outflow, meaning that it was not being inhibited by atmospheric wind shear. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone 03B
Title Tropical Cyclone 03B
Description TROPICAL CYCLONE HITS EAST COAST OF INDIA A tropical cyclone (03B) with winds reported of up to 75 mph hit the east coast of India just after midnight local time on the 16th of December 2003. At least 11 people perished in the storm, which brought heavy rains to the region. The cyclone formed in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal. It then moved steadily northwestward before coming ashore at the port city of Vishakhapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite obtained this image of the cyclone just as the center was approaching the coastline. The image was taken at 12:00 UTC on 15 December 2003. It shows the cyclone's rainfall distribution from above as seen by the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) in the inner swath and the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) in the outer swath overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) in white. A localized area of intense rain appears near the center in red. However, most of the rainfall is moderate in intensity (green areas) with rain rates on the order of 10 to 20 mm/hr and occurs north of the center. The VIRS data reveal the storm's cirrus shield to be symmetrical with broad outflow, meaning that it was not being inhibited by atmospheric wind shear. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).
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.
Tropical Cyclone 04B-05
Title Tropical Cyclone 04B-05
Description Tropical Cyclone 04B-05 had come ashore over the Indian Peninsula when it was observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite at 10:30 a.m. local time on October 28, 2005. At that time, Tropical Cyclone 04B-05 had sustained tropical-storm wind speeds of 55 kilometers per hour (35 miles per hour). Although not hurricane strength, the winds caused considerable damage. Five days of sustained rain associated with the tropical storm system are responsible for some 100 deaths in India, as well as the destruction of many homes and large areas of agricultural land. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the Goddard Earth Sciences Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).
Tropical Cyclone 05A
Title Tropical Cyclone 05A
Description The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Agni (05A) at 09:15 UTC on November 30, 2004 in the Indian Ocean. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Tropical Cyclone 08S
Title Tropical Cyclone 08S
Description Packing sustained winds of 64 km (40 miles) per hour, and gusts of up to 85 km (53 miles) per hour, Tropical Cyclone 08S formed today in the Mozambique Channel and is moving westward directly toward Mozambique?s east coast. The storm is predicted to intensify before it makes landfall early on Jan. 1, 2003 (local time). This true-color image of Cyclone 08S was acquired on Dec. 31, 2002, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), aboard the Terra satellite. Image courtesy Jeffrey Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina), as seen from the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) onboard the OrbView-2 satellite. Dina is located to the southeast of Madagascar. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina), as seen from the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) onboard the OrbView-2 satellite. Dina is located to the southeast of Madagascar. Provided by the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone Dina skirted the islands of Mauritius and Reunion to the north and west while continuing its trek over the southern Indian Ocean. Dina passed close enough to the islands to unleash damaging winds and soaking rains. On the southeast side of Mauritius, the main airport recorded peak wind gusts of 90-95 mph, and rainfall greater than 4.7 inches. Higher winds and heavier downpours likely lashed Port Louis on the storm-ward side of the island. Meanwhile, sustained winds reached 60 mph at Saint Denis, Reunion, with top wind gusts exceeding 75 mph. Early Wednesday (Jan 23) the storm was located about 500 miles to the east-northeast of Ft. Dauphin, Madagascar and had maximum sustained winds near 135 mph, with gusts approaching 160 mph. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone Dina skirted the islands of Mauritius and Reunion to the north and west while continuing its trek over the southern Indian Ocean. Dina passed close enough to the islands to unleash damaging winds and soaking rains. On the southeast side of Mauritius, the main airport recorded peak wind gusts of 90-95 mph, and rainfall greater than 4.7 inches. Higher winds and heavier downpours likely lashed Port Louis on the storm-ward side of the island. Meanwhile, sustained winds reached 60 mph at Saint Denis, Reunion, with top wind gusts exceeding 75 mph. Early Wednesday (Jan 23) the storm was located about 500 miles to the east-northeast of Ft. Dauphin, Madagascar and had maximum sustained winds near 135 mph, with gusts approaching 160 mph. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone 10S (Dina) northeast of Mauritius and Reunion Islands, Indian Ocean. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone 10S (Dina) northeast of Mauritius and Reunion Islands, Indian Ocean. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone Dina is buffeting the islands of Mauritius (obscured by cloud) and Reunion (to the southwest) in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Madagascar (far left). This true-color MODIS image was made from data acquired on January 21, 2002, at roughly 11:00 am local time. Dina is a powerful storm, with maximum sustained winds of over 138 miles per hour with gusts up to 167 mph as of Tuesday, January 22. Wind gusts are predicted to increase to over 195 mph, and the seas around the islands are roiling, with waves as high as 40 ft. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Title Tropical Cyclone 10s (Dina)
Description Tropical Cyclone Dina is buffeting the islands of Mauritius (obscured by cloud) and Reunion (to the southwest) in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Madagascar (far left). This true-color MODIS image was made from data acquired on January 21, 2002, at roughly 11:00 am local time. Dina is a powerful storm, with maximum sustained winds of over 138 miles per hour with gusts up to 167 mph as of Tuesday, January 22. Wind gusts are predicted to increase to over 195 mph, and the seas around the islands are roiling, with waves as high as 40 ft. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
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 Ami
Title Tropical Cyclone Ami
Description This dramatic image captures the narrow swath of heavy rain deposited by Tropical Cyclone Ami in the southwestern Pacific. The image was created using data from the NASA/NASDA Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and other rainfall measuring satellites. Tropical Cyclone Ami passed through the Fiji Island chain and caused extensive damage from flooding rains, high winds and storm surge. This seven day accumulation shows that nearly 20 inches of rain fell along portions of the storm track (dark red areas). The cyclone was the worst storm to strike Fiji since 1987. The animations below show a seven-day rain accumulation beginning January 7 and ending January 14, 2003. *animations* ÿÿsmall (1.3 MB MPEG) ÿÿlarge [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jan2003/ami.qt ] (2.8 MB MPEG) 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 Ami
Title Tropical Cyclone Ami
Description This dramatic image captures the narrow swath of heavy rain deposited by Tropical Cyclone Ami in the southwestern Pacific. The image was created using data from the NASA/NASDA Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) and other rainfall measuring satellites. Tropical Cyclone Ami passed through the Fiji Island chain and caused extensive damage from flooding rains, high winds and storm surge. This seven day accumulation shows that nearly 20 inches of rain fell along portions of the storm track (dark red areas). The cyclone was the worst storm to strike Fiji since 1987. The animations below show a seven-day rain accumulation beginning January 7 and ending January 14, 2003. *animations* ÿÿsmall (1.3 MB MPEG) ÿÿlarge [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jan2003/ami.qt ] (2.8 MB MPEG) 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 Ami
Title Tropical Cyclone Ami
Description Tropical Cyclone Ami (10P), located approximately 265 miles (307 km) northeast of Suva, Fiji is packing winds of 89 mph (142 km/hr) with gusts to 104 mph (166 km/hr). Ami is expected to intensify over the next 12 hours, but then quickly undergo a transition to an extratropical system in 24-36 hours. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone Ami
Title Tropical Cyclone Ami
Description With sustained winds of 104 mph (166 km/hr), Tropical Cyclone Ami has tracked southward at 14 mph (22 km/hr) and is now located approximately 98 miles (157 km) northeast of Suva, Fiji. The system is still expected to begin undergoing extratropical transition in the 12 to 24 hour time period as it interacts with a developing mid-latitude low near New Zealand. This true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Ami was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC
Tropical Cyclone Baaz Approa …
Title Tropical Cyclone Baaz Approaches India
Description On November 29, 2005, a tropical cyclone brewed in the Bay of Bengal off the southern coast of India near the island of Sri Lanka. This image of the organizing storm, called Baaz, was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on Tuesday, November 29, at 5:05 UTC (10:35 a.m. local time). The storm does not have the classical cyclone shape in the image, but some arcing bands of clouds are beginning to take shape to the northeast of the storm's core, and several areas of "boiling" clouds suggest intense thunderstorm activity. As of the early afternoon of November 30, the storm had slowed in its west-northwest progress toward land, and forecasters at the Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center were predicting that the storm would be arriving at the coast of India within 48 hours. According to news reports, thousands of people were evacuating the low-lying coastal states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in southern India, areas which were affected by the December 2004 tsunami as well as by flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13263 ] in recent weeks. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ]Goddard Space Flight Center
Tropical Cyclone Bento
Title Tropical Cyclone Bento
Description The MODIS instrument flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Bento on November 22, 2004 at 05:20 UTC. At the time this image was taken, Bento was located approximately 380 miles east-southeast of Diego Garcia and was moving towards the southwest at 5 mph. Maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph with gusts to 92 mph. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Title Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Description Tropical Cyclone Boloetse was winding down on February 5, 2006, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 10:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. local time). At this time, Boloetse was heading into the southern Indian Ocean after brushing against the southern end of Madagascar. The cyclone had sustained winds of around 120 kilometers per hour (75 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. This was less intense than the previous day [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13350 ], and forecasters were predicting the storm would continue to diminish in strength as it traveled southeast away from the African coast. Tropical Cyclone Boloetse initially formed in the western Indian Ocean and traveled west, crossing the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. However, once the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression re-organized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. Once there, the storm reversed direction and headed southeast, taking it across Madagascar once again. It struck a glancing blow over the island's southern tip on February 4, 2006. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Title Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Description Tropical Cyclone Boloetse crossed the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. However, once the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression reorganized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite observed Tropical Cyclone Boloetse in the Mozambique Channel on February 3, 2006, at 11:00 UTC (2:00 p.m. local time). At that time, the cyclone was beginning a south and eastward track, and it was predicted to strike a glancing blow along the southwestern corner of Madagascar as it moved back out into the Indian Ocean. The cyclone had sustained winds of around 165 kilometers per hour (105 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Storms of this strength typically cause moderate damage to coastal areas with storm surges around 1.5 to 2 meters (4 to 7 feet). Winds are sufficient to damage temporary structures such as trailers and sheds, and remove roofs from some permanent buildings. The large version of the image has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Other resolutions are also available from the MODIS Rapid Response website. NASA image created by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Title Tropical Cyclone Boloetse
Description Cyclone Boloetse was striking Madagascar for the second time when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image on February 4, 2006, at 07:20 UTC (10:20 a.m. local time). At this time, the cyclone had sustained winds of around 165 kilometers per hour (105 miles per hour), classifying it as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Tropical Cyclone Boloetse first crossed the island of Madagascar as a tropical storm in late January 2006, with moderately strong rains. The storm intensity declined to tropical-depression strength as it crossed the mountainous ridgeline that runs along the eastern shore of Madagascar. When the storm system reached the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, the tropical depression re-organized and built up enough strength to become a tropical cyclone. Next, the storm reversed direction and headed southeast, taking it across Madagascar once again. It gave a glancing blow over the island's southern tip on February 4, 2006. The large version of the image has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Other resolutions are also available from the MODIS Rapid Response website. NASA image created by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center
Tropical Cyclone Bondo
Title Tropical Cyclone Bondo
Description Tropical Cyclone Bondo spent the days before Christmas in the Seychelles north of Madagascar, whipping those islands with powerful Category 2-strength [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] winds. The storm then turned south and grazed along the northwestern coast Madagascar on December 24, while building strength to Category 4, according to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. [ http://www.gdacs.org/ ] The cyclone then came ashore at the north end of Madagascar on December 25, where more than 4.5 million people lived within 200 kilometers of the storm. 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 December 25, 2006, at 9:55 a.m. local time (6:55 UTC), while the storm's center was coming ashore. Bondo had well-defined spiral arms of rain clouds and thunderstorms at the time of this image, and a distinct, cloud-filled (or "closed") eye at its center. It was not as strong a storm as it had been the previous day, however, as coming ashore robbed it of the source of its power—the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and mainland Africa. According to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center, [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] peak winds had fallen to around 110 kilometers per hour (70 miles per hour), still quite potentially destructive. NASA image by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center.
Tropical Cyclone Bondo
Title Tropical Cyclone Bondo
Description The Seychelles are a chain of islands stretching out north of Madagascar off the eastern coast of Africa. On December 20, 2006, these islands were on alert for the very intense tropical cyclone Bondo, which was predicted to strike the islands in the early hours of the next day. Cyclone Bondo was a Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds as high as 222 kilometers per hour (138 miles per hour), according to the Reuters news service. 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 December 20, 2006, at 9:35 a.m. local time (6:35 UTC), while the storm's center was drawing in towards the Seychelles. The island of Madagascar appears to the southwest of the storm (lower-left corner), where the outer rain bands from the storm were coming ashore. Bondo had well-defined, spiral arms of rainclouds and thunderstorms at the time of this image, and a strong and distinct, cloud-filled (or "closed") eye at its center. 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/?2006354-1220/Bondo.A2006354.0635 ] You can also download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Bondo KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Dec2006/Bondo.A2006354.0635.250m.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.
Tropical Cyclone Carina
Title Tropical Cyclone Carina
Description Tropical Cyclone Carina appears as a tightly wound spiral in the Indian Ocean in this satellite view of the storm, obtained by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite on February 27, 2006. Carina had become an organized storm system four days earlier, and built rapidly into a powerful cyclone. By the time MODIS obtained this observation of Carina, peak winds were blowing at 175 kilometers per hour (110 miles per hour). However, the tropical cyclone was moving into the southern Indian Ocean well away from the nearest land, even the very remote Cocos Islands several hundred kilometers east. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Tropical Cyclone Cilla
Title Tropical Cyclone Cilla
Description This true-color image from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows Tropical Cyclone Cilla located approximately 333 miles east of Suva, Fiji. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph and Cilla is expected to slowly transition to an extratropical system as it moves to the south. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeffrey Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone Cilla
Title Tropical Cyclone Cilla
Description This true-color image from the MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft shows Tropical Cyclone Cilla located approximately 333 miles east of Suva, Fiji. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph and Cilla is expected to slowly transition to an extratropical system as it moves to the south. Visit the MODIS Rapid Response Team, for a copy of this scene at MODIS' full resolution of 250 meters per pixel. Image courtesy Jeffrey Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Tropical Cyclone Clare
Title Tropical Cyclone Clare
Description Residents of Western Australia's Pilbara Coast are accustomed to tropical storms, the Pilbara Coast sees more cyclones than any other part of the Australian coastline. Still, Tropical Cyclone Clare strained some nerves in early January 2006. Although the storm was downgraded from a Category 3 to a Category 2, it prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate the area, and downed some power and telephone lines. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite took this image of Clare at 10:30 a.m. local time on January 10, 2006. Hurricanes in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific Ocean are termed cyclones, and their wind direction depends on whether they are north or south of the equator. In the Southern Hemisphere, cyclone winds blow in a clockwise direction. In this image, Clare stretches hundreds of kilometers across as it moves along the Pilbara Coast. At the time this image was taken, Clare was a well-developed storm system with peak sustained winds of around 100 kilometers (60 miles) per hour. The cyclone's center was about 300 kilometers from Port Hedland, the nearest major city. According to a report from ABC.net.au, the storm had winds as high as 200 kilometers per hour when it struck Dampier, a coastal town approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Port Hedland. The storm also dropped 20 centimeters (almost 8 inches) of rain on Dampier, and forecasters expected more rain for the area. Clare was expected to remain a Category 2 storm as it moved inland. As of the morning of January 10, 2006, however, only minor damage was reported. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Tropical Cyclone Clare
Title 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.
Tropical Cyclone Craig Hits …
Title 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
Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Title Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Description This pair of images shows the birth of Cyclone Daryl off the northwest coast of Western Australia on January 19, 2006. In the fifteen hours that elapsed between the time the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite captured the top image at 10:08 a.m. Australian Western Standard Time and when it captured the bottom image at 1:00 a.m., Daryl went from a weak, newly named storm to a mature storm roughly equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm's center remained just offshore as it moved southwest along the coast, sparing coastal communities a direct hit. Both images show rain rates in the storm. In the top image, TRMM reveals that despite having a sizeable band of intense rain (dark red segment) centered in a broad area of light (blue areas) to occasionally moderate (green areas) rain, Daryl showed very little evidence of circulation. This lack of circulation indicated that Daryl was in the early stages of development. At the time of this image, Daryl was rated as a Category 1 cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Center, indicating peak wind gusts of less than 125 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour)—equivalent to a tropical storm. The lower image was taken just 15 hours later at 17:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. Australian WST on January 20) and shows a very different-looking storm. Although Daryl did not have a well-defined closed eye, the heavy rain had separated into arcing bands (green and darker red arcs), indicating that Daryl had a more mature circulation than it did earlier. Daryl became a Category 3 cyclone the following day. Catching Tropical Cyclone Daryl in the act of building may provide new and critical data for understanding the complexities of storm intensification. Becuase storms tend to form and intensify well away from land, scientists are still trying to understand how cyclones intensify. Armed with both passive and active sensors, including the first and only precipitation radar in space, TRMM has proven itself to be a valuable tool for examining tropical cyclones. These images show rain rates as measured by a number of different sensors on the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Launched in November 1997 to measure rainfall over the global tropics, TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI, NASA/GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI, NASA/GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Title Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Description This pair of images shows the birth of Cyclone Daryl off the northwest coast of Western Australia on January 19, 2006. In the fifteen hours that elapsed between the time the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite captured the top image at 10:08 a.m. Australian Western Standard Time and when it captured the bottom image at 1:00 a.m., Daryl went from a weak, newly named storm to a mature storm roughly equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm's center remained just offshore as it moved southwest along the coast, sparing coastal communities a direct hit. Both images show rain rates in the storm. In the top image, TRMM reveals that despite having a sizeable band of intense rain (dark red segment) centered in a broad area of light (blue areas) to occasionally moderate (green areas) rain, Daryl showed very little evidence of circulation. This lack of circulation indicated that Daryl was in the early stages of development. At the time of this image, Daryl was rated as a Category 1 cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Center, indicating peak wind gusts of less than 125 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour)—equivalent to a tropical storm. The lower image was taken just 15 hours later at 17:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. Australian WST on January 20) and shows a very different-looking storm. Although Daryl did not have a well-defined closed eye, the heavy rain had separated into arcing bands (green and darker red arcs), indicating that Daryl had a more mature circulation than it did earlier. Daryl became a Category 3 cyclone the following day. Catching Tropical Cyclone Daryl in the act of building may provide new and critical data for understanding the complexities of storm intensification. Becuase storms tend to form and intensify well away from land, scientists are still trying to understand how cyclones intensify. Armed with both passive and active sensors, including the first and only precipitation radar in space, TRMM has proven itself to be a valuable tool for examining tropical cyclones. These images show rain rates as measured by a number of different sensors on the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Launched in November 1997 to measure rainfall over the global tropics, TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI, NASA/GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI, NASA/GSFC).
Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Title Tropical Cyclone Daryl
Description This pair of images shows the birth of Cyclone Daryl off the northwest coast of Western Australia on January 19, 2006. In the fifteen hours that elapsed between the time the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite captured the top image at 10:08 a.m. Australian Western Standard Time and when it captured the bottom image at 1:00 a.m., Daryl went from a weak, newly named storm to a mature storm roughly equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm's center remained just offshore as it moved southwest along the coast, sparing coastal communities a direct hit. Both images show rain rates in the storm. In the top image, TRMM reveals that despite having a sizeable band of intense rain (dark red segment) centered in a broad area of light (blue areas) to occasionally moderate (green areas) rain, Daryl showed very little evidence of circulation. This lack of circulation indicated that Daryl was in the early stages of development. At the time of this image, Daryl was rated as a Category 1 cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Center, indicating peak wind gusts of less than 125 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour)—equivalent to a tropical storm. The lower image was taken just 15 hours later at 17:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. Australian WST on January 20) and shows a very different-looking storm. Although Daryl did not have a well-defined closed eye, the heavy rain had separated into arcing bands (green and darker red arcs), indicating that Daryl had a more mature circulation than it did earlier. Daryl became a Category 3 cyclone the following day. Catching Tropical Cyclone Daryl in the act of building may provide new and critical data for understanding the complexities of storm intensification. Becuase storms tend to form and intensify well away from land, scientists are still trying to understand how cyclones intensify. Armed with both passive and active sensors, including the first and only precipitation radar in space, TRMM has proven itself to be a valuable tool for examining tropical cyclones. These images show rain rates as measured by a number of different sensors on the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. Launched in November 1997 to measure rainfall over the global tropics, TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI, NASA/GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI, NASA/GSFC).
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