NASA satellite analyzes new Southern Pacific Ocean tropical cyclone

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Sept. 27, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite looked at Tropical Storm Liua in infrared light. MODIS found two areas of coldest cloud top temperatures west and northeast of Liua's center were as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees (yellow) Fahrenheit (minus 112 degrees Celsius). Surrounding them were storms with cloud tops as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees (red) Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius). Credit: NASA/NRL

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Sept. 27, the MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite looked at Tropical Storm Liua in infrared light. MODIS found two areas of coldest cloud top temperatures west and northeast of Liua's center were as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 112 degrees Celsius).

Those areas represented the strongest storms. Surrounding them were storms with cloud tops as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius).

NASA research has found that cloud top temperatures as cold as or colder than the 70F/56.6C threshold have the capability to generate heavy rainfall.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Liua was located near latitude 12.2 degrees south and longitude 162.5 degrees east.

That's about 471 miles northwest of Port Vila, Vanuatu. Liua was moving toward the south-southwest. Liua's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (35 knots/62 kph) with higher gusts.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that the forecast takes Liua west over cooler sea surface temperatures and where outside winds will weaken the storm. Liua is forecast to dissipate by Sept. 29.

Media Contact

Rob Gutro EurekAlert!

All latest news from the category: Earth Sciences

Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.

Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Pinpointing hydrogen isotopes in titanium hydride nanofilms

Although it is the smallest and lightest atom, hydrogen can have a big impact by infiltrating other materials and affecting their properties, such as superconductivity and metal-insulator-transitions. Now, researchers from…

A new way of entangling light and sound

For a wide variety of emerging quantum technologies, such as secure quantum communications and quantum computing, quantum entanglement is a prerequisite. Scientists at the Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Light…

Telescope for NASA’s Roman Mission complete, delivered to Goddard

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is one giant step closer to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. The mission has now received its final major delivery: the Optical Telescope…