Monday, September 25, 2017

NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP Satellite gets two looks at Hurricane Maria

7:26 PM    
On Sept. 23 at 8:12 a.m. EDT (1212 UTC) the

Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core observatory estimated of hourly rainfall in multiple intense rainfall bands of thunderstorms around Maria's western side. Rain was found falling at a rate of over 6.57 inches (137 mm) per hour and some thunderstorm tops in these rain bands were found to reach heights above 9.7 miles (15.7 km). GPM is managed by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
On Sept. 24 at 1:54 p.m. EDT (1754 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Hurricane Maria that showed the eye had become cloud filled. Maria was located northeast of Bahamas and far off the Florida east coast.
On Sept. 25 at 2:12 a.m. EDT (0612 UTC) the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite provided tan infrared image of Hurricane Maria. The Infrared image provided forecasters with temperature data that showed where the strongest storms were located within the . Coldest clouds tops and strongest storms were in the southeastern quadrant where temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). NASA research has shown that storms with cloud top temperatures that cold can produce heavy rainfall.

On Sept. 25, National Hurricane Center forecaster Daniel Brown noted "Deep convection is primarily confined to the eastern semicircle of the circulation and the radius of maximum winds has significantly increased."