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Tropical Storm Noel
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Tropical Storm Noel |
| Description |
Tropical Depression 16 was intensifying into Tropical Storm Noel late in the morning of October 28, 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. Though still weak, the storm was beginning to take the distinct shape of a tropical cyclone. A dense circle of clouds converged over the Caribbean Sea just south of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and a long tail of clouds curled over Puerto Rico. Shadows cast by towering thunderstorm clouds make the cloud layer appear to be boiling in places. At the time this image was acquired, Noel had winds of 65 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour or 35 knots) with gusts to 83 km/hr (52 mph, 45 knots), said the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al16/al162007.fstadv.003.shtml? ] Despite relatively low wind speeds, the storm posed a serious threat to Hispaniola, the island encompassing the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The National Hurricane Center expected Noel to dump between 250 and 500 millimeters (10 and 20 inches) of rain on the island, with a few isolated areas receiving up to 760 mm (30 inches) of rain. The heavy rainfall has the potential to trigger deadly floods and mudslides. Tropical Storm Jeanne [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12447 ] was just a tropical storm when its heavy rain caused extensive floods and mudslides [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12485 ] that killed at least 1,500 Haitians in September 2004. Haiti is particularly vulnerable to flash flooding and landslides because of the widespread deforestation of its mountainous terrain. The large image provided above is at MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions from the MODIS Rapid Response System. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Storm Noel Floods t
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Tropical Storm Noel Floods the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Noel [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14605 ] left floods and landslides in its wake after crossing Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, on October 28, 2007. As of November 2, 79 people had been reported dead and 65,000 displaced in the Dominican Republic, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-78KQAQ?OpenDocument&rc=2&emid=TC-2007-000198-DOM ] The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of floods near the northern shore of the Dominican Republic on November 1. The image was made with a combination of infrared and visible light so that water is black, plant-covered land is bright green, and clouds are pale blue and white. Run-off from the floods filled the Yuna River with sediment, coloring the water blue. The sediment also colors the Atlantic Ocean near the mouth of the river. As the lower image shows, the Yuna River is not visible in MODIS imagery under normal conditions, but in the November 1 image, the river has swollen enough to be clearly seen beneath a thin veil of clouds. The flooded delta covers several kilometers. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Nov2007/hispaniola_tmo_2007305.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image courtesy Jesse Allen, made with data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Tropical Storm Noel Floods t
| Title |
Tropical Storm Noel Floods the Dominican Republic |
| Description |
Tropical Storm Noel [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14605 ] left floods and landslides in its wake after crossing Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, on October 28, 2007. As of November 2, 79 people had been reported dead and 65,000 displaced in the Dominican Republic, said the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-78KQAQ?OpenDocument&rc=2&emid=TC-2007-000198-DOM ] The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image of floods near the northern shore of the Dominican Republic on November 1. The image was made with a combination of infrared and visible light so that water is black, plant-covered land is bright green, and clouds are pale blue and white. Run-off from the floods filled the Yuna River with sediment, coloring the water blue. The sediment also colors the Atlantic Ocean near the mouth of the river. As the lower image shows, the Yuna River is not visible in MODIS imagery under normal conditions, but in the November 1 image, the river has swollen enough to be clearly seen beneath a thin veil of clouds. The flooded delta covers several kilometers. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Nov2007/hispaniola_tmo_2007305.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image courtesy Jesse Allen, made with data provided by the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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