en-us News from the NASA GES DISC Hurricane http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/hurricane/ Typhoon Morakot began development as a tropical depression on August 03 at 18Z located southwest of Taiwan at approximately 21.2 N, 135.9 E. The storm hit Taiwan on August 7th and seemed to slightly stall over a two-day period, dumping over 80 inches of rain. On August 08, the highest amount of rainfall ever for Taiwan was recorded at 55 inches. These torrential rains have caused massive flooding and mudslides, one occurring overnight which could have a possible death toll of more than 600. A newly development storm, Etau, occurred over the weekend (August 08-09) but seems to have trouble gaining strength heading towards Japan. ##:####:##Typhoon Morakot animation and Taiwan image were created using the TRMM 3B42RT data of the Accumulated Rainfall parameter using the GES DISC TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS)(http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/), which contains TRMM rainfall products, near-real-time 3-hourly, Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis, and rainfall ground observation data. An infrared images was created using the Merged IR data, which is a globally-merged (60N-60S) pixel-resolution IR brightness temperature data set(equivalent blackbody temps), merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). The data is available by ftp from the GES DISC (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/datapool/TRMM/01_Data_Products/06_Ancillary/01_Global_MERG_IR/index.html). The RGB image is from MODIS Terra on August 07 as the typhoon was over Taiwan. ?ii= 2009-08-10 With a web browser and few mouse clicks, users can produce visualizations for all 8 years and 4.5 TB of Merged IR Brightness Temperature data and generate False Color IR imagery and animation without downloading any software and data. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/merged_IR_false_color.shtml 2009-04-14 The GES DISC Hurricane Data Analysis Tool can view many other types of weather events than hurricanes. The tool was used to create animated images of the strong late winter snowstorm which affected the U.S. East Coast on March 1-2, 2009. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/March_1st_east_coast_snowstorm.shtml 2009-03-26 The Hurricane Data Analysis Tool provided an impressive view of a tornado-spawning storm event over Oklahoma and Texas on February 10, 2009. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/February_2009_Oklahoma_tornado_storm.shtml 2009-02-23 The GES DISC has created data tools and data systems that are useful for scientists, but they are also useful for critical decision-making, particularly regarding climate, and for both formal and informal education. Those are the subjects of four presentations at the 2008 Fall AGU Meeting. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/AGU_presentations_decisions_education.shtml 2008-12-11 30 years of meteorological data; 6 years of AIRS data; a new system for 8 years of IR data from geostationary satellites, 11 years of ocean color data over the Chesapeake Bay - the GES DISC has tools and data to study climate, to be described at the Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/AGU_presentations_climate_models_oceans.shtml 2008-12-05 Scientists, students, and applications users seeking on-the-fly visualizations of hurricane-related satellite and model data can now visualize and get access to the NCEP/CPC 4-km Global Merged IR Brightness Temperature dataset, through the GES DISC Hurricane Data Analysis tool. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/hurricane_portal_merged_IR.shtml 2008-11-04 Several TRMM data products have been added to the new TOVAS instances as part of the transitional phase between the predecessor TOVAS and the current Giovanni system. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/new_Giovanni_TRMM_products.shtml 2008-09-25 As of 2:00 pm EST September 9th, Hurricane Ike has a forward speed to 12 mph heading in the West/Northwest direction with a wind speed of 75 mph and is located at approximately 22.7N, 83.4W with a central pressure of 970 mb. Hurricane Ike headed to Cuba as a category 3 storm initially and has weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved over land. The storm is expected to continue in the West/Northwest direction due to a subtropical high pressure over the Northeastern part of the gulf that developed as a split from a larger high pressure system. Once the storm reaches the Gulf waters it is very likely that it will intensify due to its compact formation and the warm sea surface temperatures. The data shows colder SSTs left by Gustav in the Northern Gulf so if the storm would happen to move more North it will gain strength but not as much as if the storm continued west where the SSTs are slightly higher. For now the models show a possible low pressure system from the Western US moving to the north of Ike in 72 hours so the storm is expected to continue in a more west pattern. There is an uncertainty with the further forecasts so we\'ll have to monitor the storm once it moves into the Gulf.##:####:####:##Hurricane Ike animations were created using the TRMM 3B42RT data of the Accumulated Rainfall parameter using the GES DISC TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS)(http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/), which contains TRMM rainfall products, near-real-time 3-hourly, Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis, and rainfall ground observation data. An animation of Infrared was created using the Merged IR data which is a Globally-merged (60N-60S) pixel-resolution IR brightness temperature data (equivalent blackbody temps), merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). The data is available by ftp from the GES DISC (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/datapool/TRMM/01_Data_Products/06_Ancillary/01_Global_MERG_IR/index.html). The image shows the movement of the storms and formation pattern over a 20 hour period on 09-07-2008. Additional images are MODIS TERRA of Hurricane Ike on 09-08-2008, and an image generated by PODAAC at JPL (http://podaac.jpl.nasa.gov/hurricanes/) of the QuikSCAT Wind data. ?ii= 2008-09-09 Animations were created using the TRMM 3B42RT data of the Accumulated Rainfall parameter using the GES DISC TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS)(http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/), which contains TRMM rainfall products, near-real-time 3-hourly, Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis, and rainfall ground observation data. The animations are of Hurricane Gustav and of the entire active tropical storm region in the Atlantic. ?ii= 2008-09-03 As Gustav becomes a tropical depression all eyes turn now to an extremely busy Atlantic region. As high time has come upon us for the hurricane season, storms develop across the Atlantic region just north of the ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone). As of 11:00 am EST we have 3 named storms still over water, Hanna, Ike and Josephine.##:####:##As of 2:00 pm EST, Tropical Storm Hanna has decreased forward speed to just 3 mph heading in the Southeast direction with a wind speed of 70 mph and is located at approximately 20.6N, 72.9W. Tropical Storm Hanna has yet to fully form in circulation and has remained erratic in development mostly due to a strong vertical wind shear. On Wednesday morning the storm will begin moving Northwest as a mid-latitude low pressure in the western Atlantic moves North and the sub-tropical high pressure comes in. Tropical Storm Hanna is still expected to make landfall in the Southeast coastal states by the end of the week as a category 1, but because it has been uncoordinated thus far we will have to keep an eye on it. ##:####:##Tropical Storm Ike is moving West at a high speed of 18 mph with wind speeds slightly less than Hanna at 60 mph. The storm is currently located around 18.9N, 45.0W and is expected to start to move in a slight Northwest direction until it gets to about 22.5N where it is expected to reach Cuba by the end of the weekend. Ike is much more structured than Hanna showing a strong circulation pattern, so this storm is expected to intensify into a stronger storm possibly reaching category 2.##:####:##A new storm has been named, Tropical Storm Josephine, which is still out in the Eastern Atlantic at 13.2N, 25.3W, but is moving West/Northwest at 15 mph. This storm has wind speeds of 40 mph and has already started to develop its circular formation. There is such a low vertical wind shear that the storm is expected to intensify quite rapidly. We will have to see how this storm develops as it moves over the Atlantic.##:####:##The images below are generated from the GES DISC GIVER tool which is in development to generate dynamic visualizations of TRMM Merged IR data and MODIS TERRA RGB. ?ii= 2008-09-02 An animation created using the Merged IR data which is a Globally-merged (60N-60S) pixel-resolution IR brightness temperature data (equivalent blackbody temps), merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). The data is available by ftp from the GES DISC (http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/datapool/TRMM/01_Data_Products/06_Ancillary/01_Global_MERG_IR/index.html).##:##The image shows the movement of the storms and formation pattern over a 15 hours period on 08-31-2008.The MODIS Terra RGB image shows the storms on 09-01-2008. ?ii= 2008-09-02 Hurricane Gustav makes Landfall this morning as a category 2 storm in Cocodrie, Louisiana. At around 11:00 am EST, Hurricane Gustav is continuely moving Northwest at 15 mph with a wind speed of 110 mph.The storm is located around 29.2 N, 90.8 W, with a pressure of 957 mb. ##:####:##The storm surge is expected to be between 10 - 14 feet, but heavy rains is expected to be the main contributor to flooding with 10-20 inches. The arms of the storm still reach to about 75 miles from the center causing severe weather from Texas to Alabama and an increased number of tornados inland. With a mid-level ridge of pressure coming in from the East, the storm will be pushed on a continued track to the Northwest. The storm will begin to weaken after it moves further inland and away from the coastal region of Louisiana but still continues to pose a threat of rainfall and severe weather to Louisiana and Texas.##:####:##Tropical Storm Hanna, is moving West/Southwest at a much slower pace now to 5 mph with a wind speed of 60 mph. The storm is located at approximately 23.0N 72.9W, and with a central pressure of 994 mb. This storm is expected to continue on the same Northwest path towards the Southeast coast.##:####:##A new storm, Tropical Depression 9, has better formed located at approximately 39.5W 17.6N. This storm is expected to increase in intensity as it continues to move West at 16 mph. Right now the wind speed is measured to be 35 mph but should increase to a category 1, and be named Ike, as it comes closer to land.Tropical Depression 0should move in a Northwest track over the Greater Antilles towards the tip of Florida. This will be the next storm to keep an eye on. ##:####:####:##The images below are generated using the GES DISC TOVAS visualization tool for TRMM 3B42RT data (http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml), and RGB images using MODIS Terra.##:## ?ii= 2008-09-01 As of this evening, around 10:54 pm EST, Hurricane Gustav is continuely moving towards the Louisiana coast at 16 mph in a NW direction with a wind speed of 115 mph and is located around 27.3 N, 88.1 W. It has increased slightly in pressure to 954 mb and the storm is starting to slow down as is it getting closer to land, but is still expected to make landfall sometime in the morning hours on Monday, September 1. The storm is currently located 226 due south of New Orleans and moving Northwest so it is on the same track as previously expected. ##:####:##Hurricane Gustav will have two factors that will deter it from intensification: one is that it will interact with an increased wind sheer, and two is as it gets closer to the northern region of the gulf the water is shallower and the current is less effective to contribute to intensification. The storm has taken a circular shape as can be seen by the images produced from MODIS data below with hurricane force winds extending out 75 miles from the center and strong tropical winds beyond that. ##:####:##Tropical Storm Hanna 23.7N, 72.2W and has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and a central pressure of 997 mb. Hanna has decreased in directional speed to 8mph. Due to the pressure ridge in Hanna's path it will prevent it from intensifying too much over the next several days. The storm is moving in a Northwest direction expected to make landfall on the Northern Florida/Georgia coast.##:####:##There is an additional area of low pressure located off the Cape Verdes islands moving Westward at about 15 mph. This system has a high potential to develop into a depression in the next day or two. ##:####:##The images below are generated using the GES DISC TOVAS visualization tool for TRMM 3B42RT data (http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml), and RGB images using MODIS. ?ii= 2008-08-31 As of this afternoon, around 2pm EST, Tropical Storm Gustav increased movement to the West slightly to 5mph maintaining wind speed of 70 mph and is located around 17.9 N, 76.2 W. Gustav is expected to soon reach hurricane strength again once it begins movement over the warmer gulf waters. As it has moved off the land masses the wind sheer has decreased allowing for a stronger convection which will enable Gustav to increase in strength. The models show a weak mid-level ridge and upper-level ridge of high pressure over Florida and the Eastern Gulf which will help drive Gustav to the West and then Northwest/North in the Gulf over the weekend making landfall around Louisiana. ##:####:####:##Tropical Storm Hanna was named this afternoon with a wind speed of 40 mph, located around 20.5N, 59.2W. Hanna is moving to the West/Northwest at a much greater speed than Gustav at 12 mph. The storm is expected to move to the North of the Greater Antilles and remain over the warm water where there is an upper-level low pressure system moving West that could provide a low shear for Hanna. Depending on the movement of the pressure system and Hanna's movement it could provide for an ideal environment for intensification, allowing Hanna to reach Hurricane strength around Sunday. This could potentially be another major rainfall for the Atlantic coastal states so this will be a system to keep an eye on.##:####:####:##There is another well developed tropical wave coming off the coast of Africa that is moving at approximately 15mph. This wave has potential for becoming a more structured storm as it continues East in the next few days.##:####:##The images below are generated using the GES DISC TOVAS visualization tool for TRMM 3B42RT data (http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml), from the GES DISC GIVER tool which is in development to generate dynamic visualizations of TRMM Merged IR data, and from WMS at JPL. ?ii= 2008-08-28 As of this afternoon, around 2pm EST, Tropical Storm Fay increased wind speeds slightly to 60 mph and is located around 29.4 N, 80.8 W. The system is moving ever so slowly to the West/Northwest back to dumping more precipitation on the East and central area's of Florida. Tropical Strom Fay is moving very slowly, around 2 mph, so flooding is expected to continue across Florida with effects from the storm lasting through the weekend. We still need to keep an eye on what happens to the storm after it passes over Florida to see if it moves back over water or if it moves far enough in the Northwest direction to weaken. The image below is generated using the GES DISC TOVAS visualization tool for TRMM 3B42RT Accumulated Rainfall data (http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml). ?ii= 2008-08-21 As of this afternoon, around 2pm EST, Tropical Storm Fay was maintaining wind speeds of 50 mph located around 28.6N 80.6 W. Still over Florida, evident by the image seen below, Fay had been dumping much less precipitation on Florida as the days previous. Most of the rainfall now falls to the North/Northeast region of the storm and will continue through most of this evening. Fay is expected to move slightly over water where marginally warmer SSTs and upper level winds will help strengthen the storm slightly before moving back to the Northwest over land where it will start its decent into nonexistence. We will have to keep a close eye on this storm to see if it moves West enough to bring it back over the northern Gulf. ##:##The images below are generated using the GES DISC TOVAS visualization tool for TRMM 3B42RT data (http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml),##:##and the GES DISC GIVER tool which is in development to generate dynamic visualizations of TRMM Merged IR data. ?ii= 2008-08-20 Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in Florida on Tuesday. The TRMM Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) shows that the slowing moving storm is bringing heavy rain to southern Florida. The tropical storm will bring the much needed rain in severe drought areas in Georgia and Alabama according to the forecast. For more information about TMPA, please visit, http://disc2.nascom.nasa.gov/Giovanni/tovas/realtime.3B42RT.shtml##:## ?ii= 2008-08-19 Hurricane Dolly reached landfall over Texas on Wednesday and moved in the Northwest-West direction. The storm seemed to move slowly as it was approaching land, almost decreasing its speed by half and rapidly weakened to a tropical storm shortly after landfall. The storm has continued on a path along the Texas-Mexican border decreasing to about 35 mph. ##:##The image was generated using the online visualization tool TOVAS of Hurricane Dolly on July 24 at 12Z, using TRMM 3B42RT Rain Rate (mm/hr). ?ii= 2008-07-25 The Atlantic hurricane season started early in 2008, with the tropical storm Arthur recorded on May 31. A-Train shows the cross section of Arthur as seen by CloudSAT in Google Earth. By July 20, Dolly was the forth tropical storm, and it developed into a hurricane of category 2 on July 23, just before it started to pound the Gulf coast of Texas and Mexico. This is how MODIS/Aqua saw Hurricane Dolly on that day. This image can be interactively viewed in Google Earth by downloading the KMZ file provided on the site. The red line represents Dolly\'s track. Please see the A-Train Data Depot (http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/atdd/) for more information. ?ii= 2008-07-25 Hurricane Dolly is moving to the coast and has gained strength. At 11 AM EST, The hurricane center was located at approximately 26.0 N 97.0 W, moving Northwest at 7 mph, with a central pressure of 964 mb and maximum winds of 100 mph. The pressure has made a dramatic decrease, dropping over 20mb in a 16 hour period causing the winds to increase around 20 mph, making it now a category 2 storm. The storm in expected to gain strength in the next few hours as it moves over the coastline and will veer Westward before it begins to decrease. Please see http://www.nhc.noaa.gov for public advisories for when it makes landfall.##:####:##The image was generated using the online visualization tool TOVAS of Hurricane Dolly on July 23 at 03Z, using TRMM 3B42RT Rain Rate (mm/hr). ?ii= 2008-07-23 The 2008 Hurricane season has definitely begun. Tropical Storm Cristobal is moving further away from the East coast with wind speeds around 55 knots, with a pressure of 1002 mb. As the storm moves further North over cooler waters it will steadily weaken as it encounters high wind shear. It is located at approximately 39.1 N and 68.2 W, Northeast of the Delaware coast and is moving at approximately 21 mph. The storm will continue to move in a Northeast direction, later moving East and then Southeast following the Northern Subtropical Ridge.##:####:##Unlike Cristobal, Tropical Storm Dolly is gaining strength as it heads towards Texas and Mexico. Dolly is moving in a Northwest direction and will be moving over slightly warmer waters allowing it to gain strength before it makes landfall. As of this morning it had maximum winds at 50 knots, with a central pressure of 997 mb and was centered at 23.3N, 93.8 W. There is an upper-level low pressure to the Northwest of the system that could contribute to Dolly strengthening, and Dolly has decreased in pressure as the storm continues to move at a rapid pace. The storm is expected to reach landfall as a category 1 storm but if it continues to strengthen and loses momentum it could strengthen to a strong category 1 with winds around 94 mph.##:####:##Another system to keep an eye on is off the coast of Africa. The system hasn't organized yet but shows promise to develop into a tropical storm.##:####:##The images of TS Cristobal, TS Dolly and the coastal system are generated using GrADs and the TRMM Globally-merged IR brightness temperature data, merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). The data is from July 20, 2008 at 23Z.##:####:## ?ii= 2008-07-22 Tropical Storm Bertha has moved past Bermuda dumping some rainfall and producing high winds and surf. At approximately 10:00 am EST on July 15, 2008 Tropical Storm Bertha was maintaining a wind speed of 60 kts, with a central pressure of approximately 995 mb and located around 35.6N 62.7W. The storm is moving North-Northeast at around 10 kts but is forcasted to take a peculiar path. It is expected to move East, then Southeast then back towards the Northeast in the next few days. Depending on the path, it may grow back to hurricane strength if it moves over warmer waters before heading more North.##:##The image below is of Hurricane Bertha as a Tropical Storm on July 13, 2008 at 21Z. The image was generated using GrADs and the TRMM Globally-merged IR brightness temperature data, merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS).##:####:## ?ii= 2008-07-15 hat will Bertha do next? That seems to be the big question. As of July 09 Bertha has started to move in a West/Northwest direction and has been maintaining its category 1 strength. In recent imagery the eye appears to be reforming, and with the storms movement over warmer waters in the next few days would mean intensification would be inevitable. However, the question still remains how the wind shear will affect the storm as it moves in the Atlantic. If the wind shear weakens as the storm moves west then Bertha could intensify, but if it remains strong then the storm will follow the original forecast and weaken. The image below is of Hurricane Bertha as a Category 3 on July 07, 2008 at 21Z. The image was generated using GrADs and the TRMM Globally-merged IR brightness temperature data, merged from all available geostationary satellites (GOES-8/10, METEOSAT-7/5 & GMS). ?ii= 2008-07-09 The first named hurricane of the season, Bertha, rapidly intensified on Sunday to a category 3 storm with winds reaching 120 mph and a central pressure of 948 mb. Hurricane Bertha is expected to stay in the Atlantic region and decrease in intensity over the next few days. As of 2:00 p.m. EDT, Hurricane Bertha was located near 22.4 north and 54.1 west, moving Northwest with wind speeds now around 96 mph. Lower pressure is causing a northwesterly movement and a strong wind shear over the hurricane causing Bertha to loose structure. As long as the shear continues the storm system will continue to decrease in intensity. ?ii= 2008-07-08