NASA IOTD: Three Storms: Danielle, Earl, and Fiona

[bystander]

Three Storms: Danielle, Earl, and Fiona
NASA Image of the Day | 31 Aug 2010

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Three Storms

The current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite GOES-13 captured this image of Hurricane Danielle heading for the north Atlantic (top center), Hurricane Earl with a visible eye hitting the Leeward Islands (left bottom) and a developing tropical depression 8, Fiona, (lower right) at 1:45 p.m. EDT on Aug. 30.

Credit: NASA GOES Project

[bystander]

It's looking more and more like the mid-Atlantic states may be in for stormy times.

[size=120]NOAA NHC: [/size][url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/][size=120][b]Hurricane EARL Public Advisory[/b][/size][/url]

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[bystander]

GOES-13 Catches 3 Tropical Cyclones Thrashing Through the Atlantic
NASA News | Hurricanes/Tropical Cyclones | 31 Aug 2010

DANIELLE NOW A LOW IN THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC
EARL STILL A POWERFUL HURRICANE THREATENING THE U.S.
FIONA CAUSES WARNINGS AND WATCHES IN THE ISLANDS

[BMAONE23]

A nice place for weather satellite loops
Latest Atlantic storm loop

[Beyond]

Africa seems to be spitting them out one after the other. Looks like it may just be "One of those years."

[bystander]

Africa seems to be spitting them out one after the other. Looks like it may just be "One of those years."

Infrared NASA Image Shows Strong Convection in New Atlantic Depression 9
NASA News | Hurricanes/Tropical Cyclones | 01 Sep 2010

[url=http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/gtwo_atl.shtml][i]Credit: NOAA/NWS/National Hurricane Center[/i][/url]

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The Atlantic Ocean is in overdrive this week, and NASA satellite imagery captured the birth of the ninth tropical depression in the central Atlantic Ocean today, trailing to the east of Tropical Storm Fiona.

NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, flying onboard the Aqua satellite, captured an infrared image of Tropical Depression 9 on Sept. 1 at 03:41 UTC (Aug. 31 at 11:41 p.m. EDT). It showed high thunderstorm cloud tops west and southwest of the center of circulation indicating strong convection.

At 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EDT) on Sept. 1, Tropical Depression 9 (TD9) was born in the Atlantic Ocean. It had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph, and was moving west at 15 mph. It was located about 830 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, near 12.4 North and 35.8 West. Although there are warm sea surface temperatures (as seen in NASA's infrared AIRS imagery) over the 80 degree Fahrenheit threshold that's needed to power up tropical cyclones, there is wind shear in the area, so intensification will be slow to occur.

When the storm becomes at tropical storm it would be named "Gaston."

Hurricane EARL Public Advisory #29A
NOAA NWS NHC | 01 Sep 2010 14:00 EDT

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Hurricane Warning for North Carolina to Virginia Border
Hurricane Watch from Virginia to Delaware

Interests elsewhere from New Jersey to New England should monitor the progress of Earl.

Updates: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

[BMAONE23]

Earl has stolen a fair portion of Fiona's energy and will likely slam it into the eastern seaboard tonight or tomorrow

[bystander]

Hurricane Earl from the ISS
NASA Earth Observatory | 01 Sep 2010

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The placid view from the International Space Station belied the potent forces at work in Hurricane Earl as it hovered over the tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 30. With maximum sustained winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, the storm was classified as a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale as it passed north of the Virgin Islands.

In this photograph captured with a digital still camera by NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock, Earl had a distinct eye that spanned about 17 miles (28 kilometers). Most of the storm had a seemingly uniform top, though the towering thunderheads at the bottom edge of the image show the impressive scale. The solar panels of the ISS remind us that the sun is still shining, at least on ISS Expedition 24.

Around the time of the photograph on August 30, the National Hurricane Center reported that Earl was centered near latitude 19.3 degrees North, longitude 64.7 degrees West, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The storm was moving west-northwest at 15 miles (24 km) per hour.

"Hurricane Earl is gathering some serious strength," Wheelock wrote from his perch on ISS. "It is incredible what a difference a day makes when you’re dealing with this force of nature. Please keep a watchful eye on this one...not sure if Earl will go quietly into the night like Danielle."