Tropical Storm Tomas Moving Away from Fiji Islands

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite, also known as "TRMM" passed over powerful tropical cyclone Tomas near the International Dateline in the South Pacific on March 15 at 2123 UTC (5:23 p.m. EDT). TRMM detected very heavy rainfall of over 50 mm/hr (~2 inches) mainly in Tomas' southeastern quadrant.

Cyclone Tomas hit the north and east areas of Fiji as a Category 4 Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, and has now moved south of them. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite captured an image of the heavy rains that were falling in Tomas during his swath of destruction in the Fiji Islands.

Tropical Storm Ului (South Pacific Atlantic)

Solomon Islands Under Warnings for Category 4 Cyclone Ului

There are two powerful cyclones in the Southern Pacific Ocean this week, Tomas and Ului. Ului is a Category Four Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and is affecting the Solomon Islands where warnings and watches have been posted today, March 15. NASA satellite data has confirmed that Ului is a strong cyclone with a wide reach.

Tropical cyclone warnings in the Solomon Islands are in effect for Rennell and Bellona, A tropical cyclone watch is in effect for the provinces of Guadalcanal, Makira, Central, Western, Malaita, Isabel and Choiseul, in addition to the Shortland Islands.

Tropical Storm Tomas (Southern Pacific)

Tropical Storm Tomas Approaching Nadi This Weekend


Tropical Storm Tomas is on a southern track in the South Pacific Ocean, and residents of Nadi, Fiji will be watching it as it approaches the eastern side of the island late this weekend. A tropical cyclone alert is in effect for all of Fiji this weekend.

Nadi is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, Fiji. Fiji Standard Time is 17 hours later than Eastern Standard Time.

NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Tomas from space and captured in infrared image from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument. The AIRS image on March 11 at 20:10 UTC (3:10 p.m. ET) showed a developing storm with a large cluster of high, cold (purple), strong thunderstorms around Tomas' center.

Tropical Storm Tomas had maximum sustained winds near 57 mph (50 knots) and it was located near 11.6 degrees South and 177.6 degrees West. Tropical storm force winds extend about 150 nautical miles from the center of the storm, making Tomas about 300 miles wide in diameter.

Tropical Storm Hubert (Southern Indian Ocean)

Hubert has maximum sustained winds near 39 mph (35 knots) and is moving west-southwest near 6 mph (5 knots). At 10 a.m. ET (1500 UTC) on March 10, Hubert was located about 160 nautical miles southeast of the capital city of Antananarivo, Madagascar near 20.9 South and 48.8 East.

As Hubert continues moving inland over the next two days, forecasts for the capital city and other areas in south central Madagascar will continue to experience periods of moderate to heavy rainfall, and gusty winds.

Tropical Cyclone 90S

Tropical Cyclone Formation Likely Near Madagascar

On March 9 the low, currently named "90S" is located near 20.1 South latitude and 50.8 East longitude is approximately 225 nautical miles east-southeast of the capital city of Antananarivo (which is located 145 miles inland from the east coast). The low's winds are estimated to be between 28- 34 mph (25 to 30 knots). The system is moving south-southeastward at 5 mph (4 knots). Minimum sea level pressure is estimated to be near 1000 millibars.

dust blowing off the Saharan Desert toward the Canary Islands.

Each summer, sandstorms lift millions of tons of dust from the Sahara, carrying plumes of it off the West Coast of Africa and over the Atlantic Ocean.

Tropical Storm Sarah (Southern Pacific)

Tropical Storm Sarah's winds peaked around 39 mph (35 knots) on Saturday, February 27. Thirty-nine mph is the lowest maximum sustained wind speed a cyclone can have to be classified as a tropical storm. At 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final warning on the system.

It was about 555 miles east-southeast of Pago Pago, American Samoa at that time, near 17.4 South latitude and 162.5 East longitude. Sarah/17P was still moving at the slow pace it maintained the previous week, at 4 mph (3 knots).