Atlantic Ocean's System 90L Gets an Infrared NASA Look
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over System 90L on
Dec. 5 at 9:47 a.m. EST and the AIRS instrument captured infrared data on the
clouds, revealing the strongest thunderstorms east of the center.
Image Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
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NASA's infrared instrument called AIRS that flies aboard the Aqua satellite
gave scientists another look at the clouds and convection happening in a
non-tropical low pressure area that's struggling to organize into a sub-tropical
or tropical cyclone.
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over System 90L on Dec. 5 at 9:47 a.m. EST and
the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument captured infrared data on
the clouds, revealing the strongest thunderstorms east of the center. The bands
of thunderstorms east of the center appeared fragmented in the infrared imagery.
Within the bands, some of the cloud top temperatures were near -63F/-52C,
indicative of high clouds with the potential for moderate to heavy rainfall. On
Dec. 6, the heaviest shower activity was still falling east of the center, and
some strong showers were also located north of the center of circulation.
The non-tropical area of low pressure was centered about 250 miles south of
the Azores Islands and generating gale-force winds.
The National Hurricane Center noted that this post-Atlantic Hurricane Season
wannabe is headed northward and into an area of stronger upper-level winds, wind
shear and cooler waters, all of which will weaken the system. The National
Hurricane Center gives this low pressure area just a 20 percent chance of
becoming a subtropical or tropical cyclone during the next five days.
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Dec. 05, 2013 - NASA Watching a Post-Atlantic Hurricane Season Low
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the low pressure
area on Dec. 5 and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument captured
infrared data on the clouds, revealing the strongest thunderstorms northeast of
the center.
Image Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
Image Token:
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the low pressure area on Dec. 5 and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument captured infrared data on the clouds, revealing the strongest thunderstorms northeast of the center. The low is non-tropical and is generating tropical-storm-force winds near 60 mph.
The low is expected to be affected by strong upper-level winds shear and move over colder waters, both of which will inhibit and likely prevent organization. The National Hurricane Center gives it a low chance of becoming a subtropical or tropical cyclone in the next couple of days.
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
