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Tropical Storm Noel
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Tropical Storm Noel |
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The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this photo-like image of Tropical Storm Noel as the storm passed over the Bahamas Islands on November 1, 2007, at 2:15 p.m., local time. At that time, Noel had sustained winds of 95 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) and was moving northeast at 23 km/hr (14 mph), said the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/al16/al162007.public_a.020.shtml? ] The storm later intensified into a Category 1 hurricane and tracked north along the east coast of the United States. Noel spreads messily across hundreds of kilometers in this image. The center of the storm, a tightly concentrated mass of clouds, sits nearly directly over the Bahamas, while clusters of thunderstorms stretch north and east from the center. In its rampage across the Caribbean, Noel caused at least 115 deaths, primarily in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, reported the Associated Press on November 2. Though the storm was relatively weak, it moved slowly over the two nations, dumping as much as 550 millimeters (21 inches) of rain. (View a satellite-based rainfall map. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14605 ]) The heavy rain caused deadly flooding and mudslides. 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. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Tropical Storm Noel
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Tropical Storm Noel |
| Description |
Spinning winds around a center of calm defines Tropical Storm Noel in this colorful image, created with data collected by NASA's QuikSCAT satellite. The satellite records wind speed and direction over the ocean by sending radar pulses toward the ocean's surface and measuring the strength of the return signal. By mapping the disturbances on the ocean's surface, scientists can estimate how hard and in which direction the wind is blowing. In this image of Tropical Storm Noel, taken on October 28, 2007, the strongest winds are in the south and west side of the storm and are depicted in purple. A broad area of red points to strong winds, and yellow, green, and blue indicate slower wind speeds. The barbs illustrate wind direction, and white barbs show where rainfall was heaviest. The winds circle around a calm center, depicted in blue. The heaviest rainfall corresponds with the strongest winds in the west side of the storm. Tropical Storm Noel was the sixteenth tropical system to develop in the Atlantic Basin in 2007. Though it was never a strong storm in terms of wind speed, it posed significant danger to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The slow-moving storm dumped heavy rain on the mountainous Caribbean island that is divided between the two nations. The resulting floods and mudslides killed 25 people in the Dominican Republic with many more still missing, reported CNN on October 30. After striking the Dominican Republic, Noel moved north over Cuba. The National Hurricane Center [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2007/refresh/NOEL+shtml/150444.shtml? ] forecast that the storm would continue northeast over the Bahamas, strengthening slightly, and then weaken as it tracked north over cooler waters. NASA image courtesy of David Long, Brigham Young University, on the QuikSCAT Science Team, [ http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. |
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Tropical Storm Noel
| Title |
Tropical Storm Noel |
| Description |
Though not the most powerful storm of the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane season, Tropical Storm Noel was among the most deadly. Only Category 5 Hurricane Felix [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14490 ] and its associated flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14514 ] had a higher toll. Slow-moving Tropical Storm Noel inundated the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas with heavy rain between October 28 and November 1, 2007. The resulting floods and mudslides left at least 115 dead and thousands homeless throughout the Caribbean, reported the Associated Press on November 2, 2007. The president of the Dominican Republic, the worst-hit nation, declared a state of emergency. After crossing Hispaniola, the island shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Noel moved over northern Cuba and then tracked northeast over the Bahamas. The storm was expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane, move quickly north along the east coast of the United States, and strike Nova Scotia, Canada, as an extra-tropical storm on November 4, said the National Hurricane Center. [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ ] This image shows the distribution of the rainfall that made Noel a deadly storm. The image shows rainfall totals as measured by the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from October 26 through November 1, 2007. The analysis is based on measurements taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The heaviest rainfall fell in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, northeast of Noel's center. Areas of dark red show that rainfall totals over the south-central Dominican Republic and parts of the Bahamas were over 551 millimeters (21 inches). Much of eastern Hispaniola, including both the Dominican Republic and Haiti received at least 200 mm (about 8 inches) of rain, shown in yellow. Rainfall totals over Haiti and Cuba were less, with a range of at least 50 mm (2 inches) to over 200 mm (8 inches). TRMM, launched in 1997 to observe rainfall over the Tropics with a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) |
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