System 93W-Western North Pacific Ocean


System 93W is a large low pressure area in the Western North Pacific Ocean that appears poised for tropical development in NASA satellite imagery.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured both an infrared and visible image of System 93W on May 4 at 01:53 UTC. The width of the AIRS image track is 1056 miles, the width of System 93W appears to be approximately 800 miles from west to east. The AIRS imagery showed an improved low-level circulation center and unorganized, but deep convection. Convection is rapidly rising air that forms the thunderstorms that power a tropical cyclone.

The strongest convection appeared around the center of System 93W's circulation where cloud-top temperatures were measured to be as cold as or colder than -63F/-52C. Cloud-top temperatures are important because they tell forecasters how high thunderstorms are, and the higher the thunderstorm, the colder the cloud tops and the more powerful the thunderstorms.

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