NASA satellite sees Olaf stretch out and fizzle over northwestern mainland MexicoOctober 06, 2009Tropical Storm Olaf wasn't given much of a chance when he was born, and he never did make it to hurricane strength before fizzling out late Saturday night. NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery that clearly showed Olaf's clouds stretched eastward out over mainland Mexico, away from its center of circulation near Baja California. At 11 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 3, the National Hurricane Center issued its last advisory on Olaf. By that time, he was just classified as a remnant low pressure area. Olaf was basically reduced to a tight swirl of low clouds approaching the west coast of southern Baja California. When precipitation and clouds separate from the center of the wind circulation and that's a tell-tale sign of a storm's demise. That's what happened with Olaf late Saturday. Olaf's clouds and rains moved northeast of his center and were located over mainland Mexico. Northwestern Mexico received Olaf's rains and gusty winds as he faded away. NASA's Quick Scatterometer satellite (QuikScat) passed over Olaf when he was a tropical storm on Olaf captured Oct 2, at 01:42 UTC (9:42 p.m. ET on October 1) and confirmed tropical storm force winds. QuikScat uses microwaves to peer into a storm's clouds and determine the speed of the rotating winds at the surface. At that time, maximum sustained winds were 45 mph, but adverse environmental conditions such as upper level winds and cooler sea surface temperatures weakened Olaf quickly afterward. NASA's Aqua satellite got a great image of Olaf's clouds stretching away from his center of circulation on October 3. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that is used to measure cloud top temperature and atmospheric pressure among other environmental factors clearly showed Olaf's center west of Baja California, but his clouds stretching over the Baja and into northwestern mainland Mexico. Those cloud top temperatures were around -63F indicating that there were still some strong thunderstorms in the storm as it was breaking apart, so Olaf was leaving behind some moderate rainfall and gusty winds as he began to dissipate. As of Monday, October 5, Olaf has dissipated. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Tropical Storm Current Events and Tropical Storm News Articles Cyclone Oli reaches category 4 strength on its way to open waters Oli has exploded in strength and as of February 4 it was a Category 4 cyclone with peak sustained winds of 132 mph (115 knots/213 km/hr). NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Fami form, fast and furious NASA's Aqua satellite caught the thirteenth tropical cyclone in the southern Indian Ocean form very quickly. In 12 hours a low grew into a tropical storm named Fami and made a fast landfall in Madagascar around 1 a.m. ET (0600 UTC) today, February 2. Tropical Storm Oli kicking up waves in south Pacific Tropical Storm Oli is headed between the islands of Bora Bora and Raratonga in the South Pacific, while maintaining its intensity as a tropical storm. Infrared satellite data from NASA's Aqua satellite reveals that Oli is a large storm, so those islands will experience gusty winds, some moderate to heavy rainfall, and heavy swells along their coasts. Tropical Storm Olga: Three times a lady Just like 1980s song by the Commodores, "Three Times a Lady," Olga has become a tropical storm for the third time in northern Australia. Tropical Storm Nisha being battered by wind shear Nisha is not expected to maintain its tropical storm status this weekend, because it is being battered by wind shear. 2 NASA satellites see TD11S going extra-tropical NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite and NASA's Aqua satellite have observed the rainfall patterns and temperatures within Tropical Depression 11S, and they indicate the storm is becoming extra-tropical. Olga restrengthens into a tropical storm Residents of the northern coastal areas of Australia's Northern Territory and NASA's Aqua satellite have seen new life "blown into" a low pressure system that is once again Tropical Storm Olga. NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Edzani becoming extra-tropical Tropical Storm Edzani will soon be Extra-tropical Storm Edzani and NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite noticed that as its changing, the storm's rains are all south of the system. NASA Satellite Sees Rainfall in Ebbing Edzani NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite captured a clear picture of what's happening within Tropical Storm Edzani, including where the rainfall is happening and where the center of the storm has been breached. Edzani is fading and will continue to fade over the next couple of days. Still safely at sea, Edzani now a tropical storm The weekend wasn't very helpful to Edzani, once a powerful Cyclone, now weakened to a tropical storm in the Southern Indian Ocean. That's because of cooler waters and increased wind shear. More Tropical Storm Current Events and Tropical Storm News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||