Current Weather Situation latest forecast cyclone reports, and hurricane,flood images.

Powerful Cyclone Tomas Battering Northern Fiji Islands Tomas grew into a monster Category 4 cyclone and thrashed the northern Fiji Islands with heavy rains and maximum sustained winds of up to 170 mph (275 km). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of most of Cyclone Tomas on Mar. 14 10:21 p.m. ET and noticed the storm's eye is cloud-filled.

South Atlantic Tropical Storm 90Q Far from Argentina's Coast

The second–ever known tropical cyclone in the South Atlantic Ocean can't escape satellite eyes, and today, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-12 captured a visible image of Tropical Storm 90Q now located off the coast of Argentina.

GOES-12 satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm 90Q at 1745 UTC (12:45 p.m. ET) today, March 12, when it was more than 1,350 miles east of Buenos Aires, Argentina, approximately near 36.5 degrees South latitude and 34.8 degrees West longitude. At 10 a.m. ET today, Tropical Storm 90Q still had maximum sustained winds near 46 mph (40 knots).

Tropical Cyclone Formation Likely Near Madagascar

Each summer, sandstorms lift millions of tons of dust from the Sahara, carrying plumes of it off the West Coast of Africa and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Cyclone 17P finally strengthened enough to get named Tropical Storm Sarah over the weekend, as it continued on a southern track toward the South Cook Islands. It didn't hold together long however, as by Monday, March 1, the storm has dissipated.

Gelane on February 19 at 09:45 UTC (4:45 a.m. ET) that clearly showed the eye of this Category 4 cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone 16S was a tropical storm yesterday, and today the storm is at Category Two Cyclone (hurricane) strength.

Cyclone Rene Slams Tonga, Moves Into Open Waters

SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN

Tropical cyclone Rene / 15P
Fiji designation 10F
Warning 07 from JTWC for 2100 GMT
The jump in warning number from 04 to 07 between 1500 and 2100 GMT has been noted
Position 14.3S 168.6W
Location 115 miles E of Pago Pago
Movement 245° (WSW) at 13 knots
Maximum sustained windspeeds 60 knots gusting to 75 knots
Winds of 34 knots or higher occur within 60 to 65 miles of the centre
Comparative strength Tropical storm
Maximum significant waveheight 23 feet
Threatened landmasses American Samoa, New Zealand
Next update from JTWC at 0900 GMT

Environmental conditions will deteriorate after the weekend, prompting a weakening trend. The storm is now forecast to move on a more southerly course later in the forecast period. Whether Rene will actually impact New Zealand as a tropical system is as yet beyond the forecast’s scope.

MINIMAL STORM STAGE (LEVEL 4/15)

CURRENT INTENSITY: MAX: 40kt GUST: 50kt (74-93kph)
CURRENT PRESSURE: 993MB
SURFACE WIND ANALYSIS: 42KT (78KPH) MSLP: 1000.1MB
ADVANCE DVORAK TECHNIQUES (ADT): 41KT (76KPH) MSLP: 1002.0MB
CENTRAL REGION TEMP: -78.06C (CENTER)
CENTRAL CLOUD TEMP: -71.68C (+50MM/HR)
FORECAST 12HRS: 55KT/102KPH/LEVEL 6

TROPICAL CYCLONE PAT (14P)

CATEGORY 2 STAGE (LEVEL 8/15)

CURRENT INTENSITY: MAX: 75kt GUST: 90kt (139-167kph)
CURRENT PRESSURE: 967MB
SURFACE WIND ANALYSIS: 79KT (146KPH) MSLP: 979.1MB
ADVANCE DVORAK TECHNIQUES (ADT): 61KT (113KPH) MSLP: 991.8MB
CENTRAL REGION TEMP: -57.66C (SMALL EYE)
CENTRAL CLOUD TEMP: -63.71C (+35MM/HR)
FORECAST 12HRS: 80KT/148KPH/LEVEL 8

STRONG STAGE (LEVEL 5/15)

CURRENT INTENSITY: MAX: 45kt GUST: 55kt (83-102kph)
CURRENT PRESSURE: 993MB
SURFACE WIND ANALYSIS: 38KT (70KPH) MSLP: 1002.9MB
ADVANCE DVORAK TECHNIQUES (ADT): 47KT (87KPH) MSLP: 989.6MB
CENTRAL REGION TEMP: -38.7C (CENTER)
CENTRAL CLOUD TEMP: -46.2C (+35MM/HR)
FORECAST 12HRS: 50KT/93KPH/LEVEL 5-6

Fami on Feb. 3 at 09:35 UTC (4:35 a.m. ET), and showed the system more resembling a cold front than a tropical cyclone, as it appears stretched out from northwest to southeast. There are also very few strong thunderstorms left in what was once the center.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their last advisory on the system at 1 p.m. ET on February 2 after it crossed Madagascar, and entered the Southern Indian Ocean. At that time it was located approximately 150 nautical miles southwest of Antananarivo, Madagascar, near 21.0 South and 45.5 East. It had maximum sustained wind near 34 mph, but was rapidly fading. Fami tracked eastward at 11 mph (10 knots) into open waters.

February 1 at 2231 UTC (5:31 p.m ET) as it was approaching landfall in Madagascar. Heavy rain was falling from high thunderstorm cloud tops that were as cold as minus 63F.

image reveals that once Fami made landfall, the storm was developing an eye (blue) in the upper levels of the storm.

GOES-11 captured an infrared look at Oli’s clouds on Feb.1 at 1652 UTC (11: 52 a.m. ET). The storm appears to be well-defined.

The twelfth tropical cyclone in the Southern Pacific Ocean has formed today, February 1, 2010, and because of its proximity to the Fiji islands, it has been dubbed “Oli.” The GOES-11 satellite passed over Oli early this morning and captured an infrared image of the storm’s clouds.

GOES-11, or the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and provides visible and infrared satellite imagery. Some of the imagery is created through the NASA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. GOES-11 flew over Oli at 11:52 a.m. ET today, February 1, and noticed a well-organized tropical storm.

Oli’s name may also be referred to as Tropical Cyclone 12P in the news. The Fiji islands have their own list of tropical cyclone names, which may be confusing, because the Joint Typhoon Warning Center will typically use the number of the storm. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is currently referring to Oli as “12P” for the twelfth tropical cyclone in the Southern Pacific Ocean.

At 10 a.m. ET, February 1, Tropical Storm Oli (12P) had maximum sustained winds near 57 mph (50 knots) up from 40 mph from 12 hours ago. Oli is moving east at 23 mph (20 knots). It was located about 540 nautical miles north-northwest of Rarotonga, near 13.5 degrees South and 162.9 degrees West.

At 11:20 p.m. ET January 27, TRMM captured Tropical Depression 11S’s rainfall, as it was centered east of La Reunion Island. Although most of the rainfall was light to moderate (yellow and green) there were some areas of heavy rain of over 2 inches per hour (red).

At 4 a.m. ET (09:00 UTC) on January 28, Tropical Depression 11S (TD 11S) had maximum sustained winds near 39 mph (35 knots). It was located about 180 nautical miles east of La Reunion, near 21.7 degree South latitude and 58.9 degrees East longitude. TD 11S is moving southward near 6 mph (5 knots).

La Reunion Island is a French island located in the Southern Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and about 120 miles southwest of the island of Mauritius.

At 11:20 p.m. ET January 27, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, or TRMM satellite captured Tropical Depression 11S’s rainfall, as it was centered east of La Reunion Island. Although most of the rainfall was light to moderate there were some areas of heavy rain of over 2 inches per hour.

Olga, on January 25 at 1330 UTC (8:30 a.m. ET). heading west toward the Northern Territory.

Olga was a tropical cyclone that formed in the southwestern Pacific Ocean on Saturday, January 23, and crept toward Cairns, Australia. Olga made landfall in Queensland and weakened to a low pressure area.

Ogla made landfall on January 24 at Port Douglas as a category 1 storm. Its center came ashore at around 2 p.m. Australia local time near Cape Tribulation bringing gusty winds and rains.

Today, January 25, a Cyclone Watch continues for the southern Gulf of Carpentaria coast and islands from Port McArthur to Burketown. The low pressure area formerly known as Olga is located in the northwestern part of Queensland, Australia. At 10:00 p.m. Australia Darwin Local time (7:30 a.m. ET) Ex-Tropical Cyclone Olga was estimated to be 251 miles (405 kilometers) west of Georgetown and 93 miles (150 kilometers)southwest of Karumba, near 18.3 degrees South 139.7 degrees East.

Olga the low is moving west at 27 mph (44 kilometers/ph) across the base of Cape York Peninsula towards the Northern Territory/Queensland Border.

The TRMM Precipitation analysis showed Magda was dropping about 2 inches of rainfall per hour west of the eye, and some of the intense thunderstorms near the eye were as high as 16 kilometers (~52,493 feet).

Tropical Storm Madga making landfall at 01:35 UTC on January 22.

Cyclone Magda made landfall from Collier Bay at around 5 a.m. local time on January 22 in northern Australia, NASA’s Terra satellite captured an image of the storm. Magda is now dissipating rapidly over land in northern West Australia.

The forecast path shown above is the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s best estimate of the cyclone’s future movement and intensity over the weekend.

Magda’s rainfall rates on Jan 21. The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour and outer rainbands are already affecting the Australian coast.

Magda is currently passing through the Bonaparte Archipelago and approaching Cape Leveque, Western Australia. It is expected to make landfall on January 22 at 1 p.m. ET (3:30 a.m. January 23, local time, Australia) then cross King Sound and make another landfall, passing near the towns of Derby and Broome on its track to the southwest, toward Port Hedland. It’s still about 445 nautical miles northeast of Port Hedland.

TRMM captured the rainfall rates of TD01W on January 20 at 0845 UTC (3:45 p.m. local time Vietnam) as it was fading over Vietnam and Cambodia.

Tropical Depression 01W wasn’t very well organized when it made landfall earlier today, and is dissipating as it now moves from Vietnam westward into Cambodia.

At 2 p.m. ET today, January 20, the cities of Battambang and Siemreap in Cambodia; and Dong Hoi, Thanh Hoa, Vinh and Son La in Vietnam were all reporting light rain, while other areas around both countries reported variable cloud conditions as TD01W’s remnants continue to dissipate.

The western half of Edzani's clouds on January 8 at 0905 UTC (4:05 a.m. ET) as it flew overhead. Edzani's eye is still visible. The bright spot to the left of Edzani is sun glint off the ocean surface.

Edzani has become a tropical cyclone as a result of low wind shear and warm ocean temperatures.

TRMM data provided a 3-D look at the cloud heights; temperature and rainfall in Tropical Storm Edzani, revealing a towering cloud near 17 km (10.6 miles) high indicating a strong storm.

NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Edzani in the South Indian Ocean on Jan. 7 at 0825 UTC (3:25 ET) and an eye is now clearly visible, indicating that the storm has strengthened.

The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of Tropical Storm Edzani on January 6 at 0450UTC safely at sea in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The area of low pressure that NASA satellites and forecasters were watching yesterday, has taken advantage of low wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures in the Southern Indian Ocean and strengthened into Tropical Storm Edzani today.