Hurricane Beatriz weakened into a tropical storm

MANZANILLO, Mexico – Hurricane Beatriz weakened into a tropical storm and headed out to sea Tuesday after pounding Mexico's resort-studded Pacific coast with heavy rains and winds

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Mexico's government had discontinued a hurricane warning for a stretch of coastline from La Fortuna to Cabo Corrientes. Beatriz is expected to continue weakening

Beatriz's maximum sustained winds have dropped to near 60 mph (95 kph). It is about 110 miles (175 kilometers) south-southwest Cabo Corrientes and moving west into the Pacific at near 12 mph (19 kph).

No injuries or major damage were reported in Manzanillo, said David Sanchez, Manzanillo's civil protection director. He said authorities saw two palm trees that had been knocked over.

About 150 Mexican soldiers were deployed on a rescue mission in case homes needed to be evacuated in Acapulco

Authorities say 100 homes were flooded, 20 trees fell and some avenues in the tourist district were also flooded because of the heavy rains. About 30 parked vehicles were swept by the current.

Tropical Cyclone Cherono

Tropical Cyclone Cherono and saw some heavy rain still existing in the storm as it dissipates.

The TRMM satellite passed directly above the remnants of tropical cyclone Cherono in the South Indian Ocean on March 22, 2011 at 0225 UTC (March 21 at 10:25 p.m. EDT). TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) showed that Cherono, although weakened, still had some life and was producing very heavy rainfall of over 50 mm/hr (~2 inches) south-southeast of Reunion Island.

The image of Cherono's rainfall was created by Hal Pierce of the TRMM team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Rain rates in the center of the image swath are from the TRMM PR, the only spaceborne radar of its kind, while those in the outer portion are from the TMI. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS).

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Tropical Cyclone Carlos Now Affecting Western Australia

Tropical Cyclone Carlos continues to live and has moved into the Southern Indian Ocean, and is affecting Western Australia.

cyclone Carlos on February 22 at 1850 UTC (1:50 p.m. EST) as the storm's center was battering coastal Australia. TRMM's rainfall data shows that most of the rainfall with Carlos was located off shore but some bands of moderate rainfall were affecting coastal Australia.

Tropical storm force wind speeds on the Saffir Simpson scale estimated to be over 50 kts (~58 mph). Carlos has been predicted to batter the Australian coast as it continues traveling southwestward. It is expected to intensify to minimal hurricane force with wind speeds of 65 kts (~75 mph) on February 24 after moving into the open waters of the Indian Ocean.

Cyclone Dianne Currently Staying Away from Australia

When NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Tropical Cyclone Dianne on Feb. 18 at 06:47 UTC (2:47 p.m. Australia/Perth local time/1:47 a.m. EST) it provided information to forecasters that showed Dianne moving farther west than previously forecast. That movement is keeping the storm farther away from Western Australia and that's good news because Dianne strengthened.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on the Aqua satellite showed a larger area of strong thunderstorms around Dianne's center today, Feb. 18, compared to yesterday. The greatest area of deep convection (rapidly rising air that forms the thunderstorms that power the tropical cyclone) are over the northern semi-circle of the storm.

AIRS infrared data takes temperatures of cloud tops and sea surface temperatures and noticed the stark contrast between the two indicating that the thunderstorm cloud tops were very high, very cold (-52C/-63F) and very strong. Meanwhile, the sea surface temperatures were very warm (warmer than 80F/26.5C) and adding power to Dianne.

System 98S Southern Indian Ocean

NASA’s Aqua satellite is already seeing the potential in a tropical low pressure area to blossom into a tropical cyclone through its very cold cloud top temperatures.

A low pressure system known as System 98S is currently moving over the northern coast of Western Australia appears to have a good chance for developing into a tropical cyclone later this week once it slides into the warm waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.

On Monday, January 24, 2011 EST, the low was nearing Kuri Bay, located on the northern coast of Western Australia. It is forecast to continue moving southwest and skip over water along the northern coast as it heads toward Beagle Bay, Derby and Broome will be affected by the low’s outer rains and winds as it continues tracking southwest.

Tropical Storm Vania South Pacific Ocean

Tropical Storm Vania on January 12 at 1246 UTC (7:46 a.m. EST). TRMM noticed that some of the thunderstorms reached more than 9 miles (~15 kilometers) high, indicating strong uplift and a heavy rainmakers. TRMM also noticed that the heaviest rains were falling in the northeastern quadrant of the storm and indicate rainfall at about 2 inches per hour. Other quadrants of the storm were generating moderate rainfall rates between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. TRMM is managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA.

TRMM captured the rainfall rates of Tropical Storm Vania on January 12 at 1246 UTC. The yellow and green areas indicate moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour. The heaviest rains were falling in the northeastern quadrant of the storm (Red) and indicate rainfall at about 2 inches per hour.

System 93P

System 93P, which is also designated in the Fiji Islands as “03F” for third tropical disturbance formed in the South Pacific Ocean. On Monday, January 10, 2011 at 0600 UTC (1 a.m. EST), it was located about 115 miles east-northeast of Port Vila, Vanuatu near 16.9 South and 170.0 East.

Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,090 miles (1,750 kilometers) east of northern Australia, and 301 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of New Caledonia and west of Fiji.

The infrared image provided an appearances of circular motion, but didn’t show a well-organized storm. Areas that are brighter white are areas of stronger convection

Tropical Storm Tasha

Cyclone Tasha recently made landfall just south of Cairns along the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia during the early morning hours on Christmas Day.

The storm, which had formed just off the coast, came ashore as a Category 1 cyclone (equivalent to a tropical storm on the U.S. Saffir-Simpson scale) with wind gusts of up to 105 kph (~65 mph) reported just offshore. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (known as TRMM) was launched back in 1997 with the primary purpose of measuring rainfall in the Tropics.

With its unique combination of active radar and passive microwave sensors, TRMM has also served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones. TRMM captured an image of Tasha at 15:32 UTC (5:32 am AEST) on the 24th of December 2010 just before it became a Category 1 cyclone. Tasha appears as an area of enhanced rainfall with moderate to localized areas of heavy rain embedded within a broader area of light to moderate rain draped along the coast of northeastern Australia.

Tasha has no eye and little evidence of banding, which indicates that it is not an intense system. In fact, Tasha's winds did little damage and the storm was quickly downgraded from a cyclone by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre; however, heavy rains from the storm and its remnants had a substantial impact on the region by exacerbating flood conditions already in place as a result of prior excessive rainfall across eastern Australia. The result was widespread flooding with many areas cut off.

Tropical Storm Tasha

Tropical Storm Tasha formed quickly in the South Pacific Ocean last weekend and made landfall on the coast of Queensland, Australia on Christmas day (local time). NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tasha after its center made landfall and captured a visible image of the storm revealing some powerful thunderstorms.

On Dec. 24, Tropical Storm Tasha formed quickly and headed for landfall near Cairns, Australia. At 1800 UTC (1 p.m. EST or 4 a.m. on Dec. 25 local time –Brisbane/Australia), Tasha was near 17.1S 146.3E, about 35 nautical miles east-southeast of Cairns with maximum sustained winds near 39 mph. At that time a NASA Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite image showed banding of thunderstorms and the storm was getting more organized.

Powerful Snowmaker Leaving New England

Snows are finally winding down in New England today, Dec. 27, as a powerful low pressure system brought blizzard conditions from northern New Jersey to Maine over Christmas weekend. The GOES-13 satellite captured an image of the low's center off the Massachusetts coast and saw the snowfall left behind.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 captured the visible image. GOES satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. creates some of the GOES satellite images and animations.

As of 1:30 p.m. EST, all blizzard warnings were canceled as the low has pulled much of its snow and rain away from land areas and into the North Atlantic Ocean. The winds behind the system are now causing more problems for residents along the U.S. East coast.

Tropical Storm Omeka Central Pacific Ocean

The Central Pacific now has unwrapped their first tropical storm since 1997. Tropical Storm Omeka formed in the Central Pacific Ocean near the International Dateline and the GOES-11 satellite captured an image of it today.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-11 is stationary over the western U.S. and provides imagery of that half of the country in addition to visible and infrared images of the eastern and central Pacific Oceans. Satellite data was used to create a full-disk image of the Eastern and Central Pacific Ocean on Dec. 20 at 1200 UTC (7 a.m. EST) at the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The image showed Tropical Storm Omeka to the west of a large area of clouds along a frontal boundary in the Pacific. GOES satellites are managed by NOAA.

System 91S

At 0600 UTC (1 a.m. EST) on December 15, System 91S was located about 310 miles northwest of Learmonth, Australia near 18.1 South latitude and 110.6 East longitude. Learmonth is located in the extreme western coast of Australia.

When NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over System 91S on Dec. 15 at 06:05 UTC (1:05 a.m. EST) the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) Instrument captured an infrared image that showed a large area of strong convection around the center of the system’s circulation. The cloud tops were as cold as or colder than -63 Fahrenheit, indicating high, strong thunderstorms. The circulation of the low was clearly evident in the visible image from the AIRS instrument.

The strongest surface winds appear to be on the northeastern side of the storm between 25-30 knots (28-34 mph or 46-55 km/hr) where the strong convection is occurring. Minimum estimated pressure is 1000 millibars. System 91S is moving southwest near 5 mph.

Tropical Depression 19W Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Tropical depression 19W was the latest of four tropical cyclones to move over Vietnam this season. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed directly above TD 19W on December 13, 2010 at 2038 UTC (3:38 p.m. EST) and collected rainfall data. TRMM’s Precipitation Radar (PR) showed that a few powerful thunderstorms embedded within TD 19W were dropping heavy rainfall off Vietnam’s south-eastern coast. The heaviest rainfall was falling at a rate of about 2 inches per hour over the coastal waters of Vietnam. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Although TD 19W was very small it’s rainfall added to October’s extreme rainfall amounts that contributed to the worst flooding seen in the country of Vietnam for 20 years. Flooding was widespread in the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Binh, Thua Thien Hue, and Ha Tinh. Deadly tropical storms Mindulle and Conson hit Vietnam in July and August. Tropical depression 18W in November also added to Vietnam’s extremely high 2010 rainfall totals.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the organization that forecasts tropical cyclones in that area of the world, TD 19W’s remnant s have already moved ashore and are now affecting southern and central Cambodia.

Tropical Storm 94B

A low pressure system has been moving through the Northern Indian Ocean over the last couple of days and infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed strong convection in its eastern side and strong wind shear.

At 1800 UTC (1 p.m. EST) on Dec. 6, the center of the low pressure area known as 94B was located east of India's southeast coast over the Bay of Bengal. 94B's center is about 225 miles northeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka near 11.4 North and 84.0 East.

When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the low on Dec. 6 at 07:59 UTC (2:59 a.m. EST), its Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of the storm's clouds. The image revealed that the western half of the low is already over land as a result of strong wind shear, while the eastern half of the storm and its center of circulation are over open waters in the Bay of Bengal. AIRS data showed that the eastern half of the low had the strongest convection and thunderstorms as infrared data revealed that cloud tops are so high that they are at least -63 degrees Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius) or colder.

Tropical Storm Abele Becomes More Powerful

NASA's TRMM satellite noticed strong bands of thunderstorms wrapping into Tropical Storm Abele, signaling that it has become more organized and more powerful in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed directly above tropical cyclone Abele in a remote area of the South Indian Ocean on December 1 at 0702 UTC (2:02 a.m. EST). This rainfall analysis from TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) and TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) shows that Abele had become much better organized. Increasingly well defined bands of rainfall spiraling into the center of the storm are an indication that ABLE had intensified.

The TRMM pass over Abele occurred during daylight hours so the rainfall analysis was overlaid on infrared and visible images from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

On Dec. 2 at 0600 UTC (1 a.m. EST), Abele's maximum sustained winds were near 60 knots (69 mph). It was about 610 nautical miles west-southwest of Cocos Islands and moving southeastward at 13 mph. Abele is about to run into cooler waters and increased wind shear and is expected to begin weakening in the next day.

Western Caribbean Low Not Tropical But a Rainmaker in Central America

A low pressure area in the western Caribbean Sea still has a slight chance of developing into a tropical depression as it closes in for a landfall, but that's not stopping it from dropping heavy rainfall in Central America today.

The low is forecast to make landfall on the Belize coast today, November 19, and continues to move westward and further inland. Although the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. still gives the system a ten percent chance of developing into a tropical depression, it continues to drop moderate to heavy rainfall over Belize and Guatemala today.

At 1 a.m. EST today, the center of the low was located near Roatan Island, Honduras near 16.9 North and 85.8 West.

By 7 a.m. EST, the weak low pressure area had disorganized showers and thunderstorms. It was centered over the Gulf of Honduras and was moving westward between 5 and 10 mph. It is expected to move inland later today over Belize and Guatemala.

Tropical Storm Jal

Today's AIRS imagery hints that circulation is still occurring in Jal's remnants. The circulation was particularly apparent in the AIRS visible image. The AIRS infrared satellite image showed that the strongest convection and thunderstorms are now occurring to the west of the center of circulation and over the open waters of the Arabian Sea.

At 900 GMT (4 a.m. EST) on Nov. 9, the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Jal was over the waters of the eastern Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea is located in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean and covers a total area of about 1,491,000 square miles.

Relative to land and the nearest city in India, Jal's remnant low was about 70 miles east-southeast of Mumbai near 17.4 North and 71.9 East. Mumbai is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and is located on India's west coast. It is the most populous city in India with 14 million residents.

The forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center are monitoring Jal's remnants for possible regeneration later today.

Typhoon Megi Northwest Pacific Ocean

On October 18, 2010, Typhoon Megi approached and made landfall in the northeastern Isabela Province of the Philippines. Spanning more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) across, Megi was the 15th tropical storm and 7th typhoon of the season in the western Pacific Ocean. It was the most intense tropical cyclone of the year to date.

News reports indicated at least one death and an unknown number of injuries, as power and communications was cut off to more than 90 percent of Isabela and Cagayan provinces. In addition to the immediate damage, officials were concerned about the long-term damage to the rice crop, a staple of the national diet.

This image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite at 10:35 a.m. Philippine Time (02:35 UTC) on October 18, 2010. Megi was bearing down on Palanan Bay as a “super typhoon” with category 5 strength on the Saffir Simpson scale. As of 8:00 a.m. local time, the storm had sustained winds of 268 kilometers (167 miles) per hour, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

Hurricane Paula (Atlantic Ocean)

Paula as it traveled directly above on October 14, 2010 at 1437 UTC (10:47 AM EDT). The heaviest precipitation shown by TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) data was off the coast of north-western Cuba. Paula was only producing scattered light to moderate rainfall elsewhere over western Cuba and the Florida Keys.

Hurricane Paula was downgraded to a tropical storm at 1500 UTC (11:00 AM EDT) by the National Hurricane Center. Vertical wind shear, dry air entrainment and interaction with the mountainous terrain of western Cuban are predicted to continue to weaken Paula during the next twenty four hours. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Hurricane Otto

Otto had maximum sustained winds near 75 mph, and the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla. noted that some strengthening is possible before it weakens on Saturday, Oct. 9. Otto was located about 445 miles south of Bermuda near 25.9 North and 64.0 West. It was moving east-northeast near 17 mph, and had a minimum central pressure of 979 millibars.

On Oct. 7 at 1729 UTC (1:29 p.m. EDT) NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Otto and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured an infrared image of its cloud temperatures. The image showed that the highest, coldest thunderstorm cloud tops colder than -65 Fahrenheit were around Otto's center and throughout the large band of strong thunderstorms extending from the southeast of Otto's circulation. That band of strong thunderstorms brought heavy rainfall on the already soaked areas of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.