13 hours ago by Alan Buis NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft captured these infrared images of Super Typhoon Haiyan at 8:59 p.m. PST Nov. 7 (left) and 9:17 a.m. PST Nov. 8 (right). The storm's coldest cloud-top temperatures and areas of heaviest rainfall are depicted by the brightest shades of purple.Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech <\/p>\n
(Phys.org) New satellite images just obtained from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and the Indian Space Research Organization's OceanSAT-2 ocean wind scatterometer provide a glimpse into one of the most powerful storms ever recorded on Earth. <\/p>\n
According to the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Typhoon Haiyan had maximum sustained winds of 195 mph (314 kilometers per hour), with gusts up to 235 mph (379 kilometers per hour) shortly before making landfall in the central Philippines today. That would make it one of the strongest storms ever recorded. Weather officials in the Philippines reported the storm, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, came ashore with maximum sustained winds of 147 mph (235 kilometers per hour) and gusts of up to 170 mph (275 miles per hour). <\/p>\n
The two AIRS images, acquired at 8:59 p.m. PST on Nov. 7 (left) and 9:17 a.m. PST on Nov. 8 (right), show the powerful storm in infrared. When the image on the left was acquired, the storm was located 214 miles (344 kilometers) south-southeast of Manila. By the time the image on the right was acquired, the fast-moving storm was already centered west of the Philippines, on a forecast track that will take it to Vietnam. The storm's coldest cloud-top temperatures are indicated by the brightest shades of purple, and show where Haiyan's heaviest rainfall was occurring. <\/p>\n
Another image, from the OSCAT radar scatterometer on the Indian Space Research Organization's OceanSAT-2 satellite, shows Haiyan's ocean surface winds at 5:30 p.m. PST on Nov. 6. The wind data were calculated by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., using an advanced wind retrieval algorithm designed for tropical cyclone conditions. The colors indicate wind speed and arrows indicate wind direction. The wind speeds were measured in 15-by-15-mile (24-by-24-kilometer) boxes that recorded a maximum value of 128 miles, or 206 kilometers, per hour). That's why these wind speeds are lower than the maximum small-scale winds calculated by the U.S. Navy Joint Typhoon Warning Center. <\/p>\n
Explore further: NASA sees strengthening Tropical Storm Haiyan lashing Micronesia <\/p>\n
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Haiyan on Nov. 4 and infrared data showed a large area of powerful thunderstorms affecting Micronesia. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has forecast newborn ... <\/p>\n
Super-Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the eastern Philippines as the strongest tropical cyclone of the year, and today, Nov. 8, is exiting the country and moving into the South China Sea. NASA's Aqua satellite ... <\/p>\n
As Typhoon Haiyan has been strengthening, NASA's TRMM satellite investigated how much rain was falling throughout the storm. Typhoon Haiyan is now closing in on Yap and Palau with a forecast to move through ... <\/p>\n
Tropical Storm 30W weakened into a tropical depression again on Nov. 6 and wind shear stretched out the storm. The storm's elongation was evident in infrared NASA satellite imagery. <\/p>\n
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Originally posted here:<\/p>\n
NASA peers into one of Earth's strongest storms ever<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 13 hours ago by Alan Buis NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft captured these infrared images of Super Typhoon Haiyan at 8:59 p.m. PST Nov. 7 (left) and 9:17 a.m. Continue reading