Thursday, March 18, 2010


Northeastern Queensland, Australia is on alert as Tropical Cyclone Ului continues tracking through the Coral Sea today, and is forecast to make a landfall on March 20. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites have been providing satellite data on the storm to assist forecasters.

On Thursday, March 18 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Tropical Cyclone Ului had maximum sustained winds near 92 mph (80 knots). The storm is about 300 miles in diameter. Tropical storm force winds extend about 155 miles from Ului's center, while hurricane force winds extend 45 miles out from the center. Ului was located about 670 nautical miles east of Cairns, Australia near near 15.9 South and 157.4 East. It has been crawling at 3 mph (2 knots) in a southwestward direction.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010



Tropical Cyclone Ului's cold thunderstorm cloud tops using infrared imagery on March 17 at 10:35 a.m. EDT after the storm had departed the Solomon Islands..

Tropical Cyclone Ului has been almost sitting still in the Coral Sea for the last couple of days, but is once again moving and headed for a landfall in northeastern Queensland, Australia by the weekend.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured Tropical Cyclone Ului's cold thunderstorm cloud tops on March 17 at 10:35 a.m. EDT (14:35 UTC) after the storm had departed the Solomon Islands. The infrared imagery revealed that the two strongest areas where convection was strongest in Ului were in the northern and southern areas around the eye.

It is in those two areas that the highest, coldest thunderstorm tops were revealed by AIRS infrared imagery. Those thunderstorm cloud tops were as cold as -63 Fahrenheit, and were areas where heavy rain was falling.

Monday, March 15, 2010


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.

Friday, March 12, 2010


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).

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-12 captured a visible image of System 90Q at 14:45 UTC (9:45 a.m. ET) on March 11, and it appeared as a small circular area of clouds off the Brazilian coast. GOES is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA’s GOES Project, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. creates some of the GOES satellite images.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010


Tropical Cyclone Formation Likely Near Madagascar

On March 9 the low, currently named "90S" is located near 20.1 South latitude and 50.8 East longitude is approximately 225 nautical miles east-southeast of the capital city of Antananarivo (which is located 145 miles inland from the east coast). The low's winds are estimated to be between 28- 34 mph (25 to 30 knots). The system is moving south-southeastward at 5 mph (4 knots). Minimum sea level pressure is estimated to be near 1000 millibars.

Monday, March 08, 2010

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.

Monday, March 01, 2010

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.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Low 17P Has a Good Chance for Tropical Reformation This Weekend

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is the forecast center that issues advisories for tropical cyclones in the Southern Pacific Ocean, and they noted on February 26, "Available data does not justify issuance of numbered tropical cyclone warnings at this time" That may change over the weekend, as maximum sustained winds are near tropical depression strength, 34 mph (30 knots) and environmental factors are looking more favorably for further development.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tropical cyclone 17P may be a low pressure area right now, but environmental conditions have become more favorable to give it a likely comeback as a tropical storm. Forecasters are using satellite imagery and observing various factors to see if 17P may be reborn.

When the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite known as GOES-11 flew over 17P's center on Feb. 25 at 1622 UTC (11:22 a.m. ET), it captured in infrared image of its clouds. The satellite image showed that the storm appears to be getting re-organized, as seen in the circular shape of its clouds.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

17P low on Feb. 24 at 0709 UTC (2:09 a.m. ET). The rainfall was scattered around the low’s center. The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. The small red area indicates heavy rainfall at almost 2 inches per hour.

Monday, February 22, 2010

On February 21, the seventeenth tropical depression formed in the South Pacific Ocean. Today, February 22, the storm has strengthened into Tropical Storm 17P (TS 17P) with maximum sustained winds near 39 mph, and it was about 740 miles east-northeast of Pago Pago.

Friday, February 19, 2010

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

Thursday, February 18, 2010

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

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tropical Storm 16S on February 15 at 5:05 a.m. ET (1005 UTC) when it was still coming together and noticed that some strong convection (purple) was flaring up in its center.

Tropical Cyclone 16S has already powered up into a tropical storm, and is headed in the direction of Port Louis and Reunion Island in the next couple of days.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Cyclone Rene Slams Tonga, Moves Into Open Waters

Tropical Cyclone Rene slammed Tonga early yesterday, February 15, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (160 kilometers). NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an image of Tropical Cyclone Rene when it was off Pago Pago yesterday, February 14 at 01:15 UTC. Rene has since moved southward and is now expected to dissipate in the next couple of days.

Friday, February 12, 2010

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.

Thursday, February 11, 2010


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

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

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

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

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

Thursday, February 04, 2010

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.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

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.

Monday, February 01, 2010

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.

Friday, January 29, 2010


NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Olga at 11:29 p.m. EST Jan. 28 and the AMSR-E instrument measured the winds on Olga’s eastern side to be around 34 mph or 30 knots (in red), just before she strengthened back to tropical storm status.

Thursday, January 28, 2010


Tropical Depression 11S Forms in the Southern Indian Ocean

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.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Tropical Cyclone Olga over northeast Australia on January 24 at 4:10 UTC.

Australia Posts Warnings Again for Olga

Olga was downgraded to a low pressure area yesterday as her center tracked west from Queensland into the Northern Territory of Australia. Now she's nearing the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria and is expected to strengthen while feeding off the Gulf's warm waters. As a result, cyclone warnings and watches have been posted for parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

On Tuesday, January 25, a Cyclone Warning is in effect for coastal and island communities from Groote Eylandt, including Alyangula in the Northern Territory, to Burketown in Queensland. In addition, a Cyclone Watch is in effect for coastal and island communities from Cape Shield to Alyangula.

At 9:30 p.m. local Australia Time (7 a.m. Eastern Time) today, January 26, Olga the Low pressure area is located near 16.8 degrees South and 137.7 degrees East. That's near the border of Queensland and the Northern Territory and about 170 kilometers east southeast of Borroloola and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Mornington Island. Olga moving west northwest at 14 mph (23 kilometers 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.

Friday, January 22, 2010

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.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

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.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

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.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

First Tropical Depression of 2010 Forms in Northwestern Pacific

At 10 a.m. ET (10 p.m. Vietnam local time) today, January 19, Tropical Depression 01W had maximum sustained winds near 25 knots (28 mph). It was located about 190 miles southeast of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, near 9.1 North latitude and 108.7 East longitude. TD01W was moving northwest near 8 knots (9 mph). TD01W is generating 8- foot high waves in the South China Sea today.

Monday, January 11, 2010



Tropical cyclone Edzani

Friday, January 08, 2010

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.

On January 8 at 10 a.m. ET (1500 UTC), Cyclone Edzani had maximum sustained winds near 155 mph! That's 135 knots or 250 kilometers per hour, and it has higher gusts. Edzani's powerful hurricane-force winds extend out 40 miles from its center, while tropical storm-force winds extend up to 130 miles from the center.

Edzani was centered about 590 nautical miles south-southeast of Diego Garcia near 16.2 degrees South latitude and 76.7 degrees East longitude, safely away from any land areas. Edzani was moving southwestward near 9 mph (8 knots/14 km/hr).

Thursday, January 07, 2010

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.

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

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.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

As of today, Wednesday, 06-Jan-2010 05:18:13 PHT no tropical cyclone existing within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).