NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Storm Edouard each day from September 12 through 14 and captured imagery of the storm as it grew into a hurricane. NOAA's GOES-East satellite covers the Atlantic Ocean and takes visible images during the day and infrared images at night to show the movement of weather systems. Those images were compiled into a movie from Sept. 13 through 15 showing movement and intensification of Edouard into a hurricane. NASA's HS3 Mission also investigated the storm.
NASA's Terra satellite captured the three images of Edouard as it transitioned into a hurricane. When Terra flew over the storm, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured visible images on September 12 at 9:10 a.m. EDT, September 13 at 9:50 a.m. EDT, and September 14 at 10:35 a.m. EDT. The three images together show that Edouard consolidated as it strengthened - that is, bands of thunderstorms became more tightly wrapped around the storm. By September 14, the bands of thunderstorms were concentrated over the northern quadrant of the storm and wrapping into the cloud-filled eye.
On Sunday morning, September 14, 2014 at 1102 UTC (7:02 a.m. EDT) NASA's Global Hawk 872 took off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia on a flight toward Tropical Storm Edouard for a 24 hour mission. It was the sixth science flight for the Global Hawk during the Hurricane and Severe Storms Sentinel or HS3 mission. For more information about NASA's HS3 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/hs3
On Sunday at 5 p.m. EDT Edouard's maximum sustained winds had increased to near 85 mph (140 mph) and additional strengthening is forecast. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted on Monday, September 15 at 11 a.m. EDT that Edouard's maximum sustained winds increased to 105 mph (165 kph) making it a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.
NHC forecaster Cangliaosi noted "Satellite images show that the eye of Edouard has become larger and more distinct during the past few hours, with a fairly symmetric inner-core convective pattern."
The center of Hurricane Edouard was near latitude 27.3 north and longitude 55.5 west. That's about 655 miles (1,055 km) east-southeast of Bermuda. Edouard was moving toward the northwest near 14 mph (22 kph) and a movement toward the north is expected on Tuesday, September 16. The estimated minimum central pressure is 966 millibars.
The NHC forecast calls for some strengthening through the end of the day on September 16 while the hurricane remains in favorable conditions. Beyond that time, cooler water, dry air, and a pronounced increase in wind shear is expected to cause Edouard to weaken steadily.
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
The sixth tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season formed in the central Atlantic Ocean yesterday, and today, September 12, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Edouard. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over Edouard and provided forecasters with an infrared view of what's happening within the strengthening storm.
When Suomi NPP passed over Edouard on September 12 at 04:37 UTC (12:37 a.m. EDT), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite or VIIRS instrument aboard captured an infrared image of the storm. The infrared data shows temperature, an indicated that there were very high thunderstorms with very cold cloud top temperatures surrounding the center of the low level circulation.
VIIRS is a scanning radiometer that collects visible and infrared imagery and "radiometric" measurements. Basically it means that VIIRS data is used to measure cloud and aerosol properties, ocean color, sea and land surface temperature, ice motion and temperature, fires, and Earth's albedo (reflected light).
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) the center of Tropical Storm Edouard was located near latitude 18.5 north and longitude 43.0 west. That's about 1,315 miles (2,120 km) east of the Northern Leeward Islands Edouard is moving toward the west-northwest near 16 mph (26 kph) and this motion with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph (75 kph) and some slight strengthening is possible during the next two days.
Forecaster Avila of the National Hurricane Center noted that Edouard is moving toward the west-northwest at 14 knots (16 mph/26 kph) steered by the flow around the edge of a large elongated area of high pressure known as the Atlantic subtropical ridge. A gradual turn to the northwest and north is forecast in about 3 to 4 days when the ridge weakens.
The National Hurricane Center expects Edouard to become a hurricane by Monday, September 15 and stay east of Bermuda, curving back to the northeast.
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
The sixth tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season formed in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured it.
A visible image of Tropical Depression 6 was taken by NOAA's GOES-East satellite at 7:45 a.m. EDT on September 11 as it developed. The image was created by NASA/NOAA's GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
In addition to using GOES imagery and data from other NOAA and NASA satellites, The National Hurricane Center also uses measurements from the Advanced Scatterometer or ASCAT instrument that flies aboard the EUMETSAT METOP satellite. Forecaster Beven at the National Hurricane Center noted "Satellite imagery and a recent ASCAT-B overpass indicate that the low pressure area over the eastern Atlantic has a well-defined circulation and organized convective banding near the center."
At 11 a.m. EDT Tropical Depression Six had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph (55 kph) and the depression could become a tropical storm later in the day. The center of Tropical Depression Six was located near latitude 16.2 north and longitude 37.1 west, about 870 miles (1,400 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands. The depression is moving toward the northwest near 13 mph (20 kph) and is expected to move northwest or west-northwest is expected during the next couple of days. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars.
Despite being in an area of wind shear, the NHC noted that computer model guidance forecasts slow but steady strengthening.
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