NASA Video – Hurricane Irene Becomes Dangerous Major Hurricane – ‘P...

 

NASA Video – Hurricane Irene Becomes Dangerous Major Hurricane – Potential To Be Worst In Memory

 

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NASA satellites Record  Time Lapse Video Of Hurricane Irene Developing Into A Major Hurricane Over The Last 24 Hours With The Eye Now Visible From Space, As The Media Warns Irene Could Become ‘The Worst In Memory’.

Less than 24 hours ago Hurricane Irene was a wimpy category 1 hurricane, but NOAA issued a warning that it would likely develop into a major hurricane within a day or so. They warned the storm is also now projected to hug the East Coast instead of barreling inland which means it has the potential to do much more damage over a longer period of time with the potential for severe flooding from storm surges along the East Coast with the Eye of the Irene projected to hit NJ early Sunday evening.

NOAA Weather Alert: Conditions Rapidly Deteriorating As Hurricane I...

 

NOAA Has Issued A Weather Alert For Southern Florida Warning Conditions Rapidly Deteriorating As Hurricane Irene Approaches Bahamas, The Storm Could Become A Major Hurricane Over The Next 24 Hours.

 

 

NOAA hurricane Irene advisory feed has issued an alert and is warning the current category 1 storm may develop into a major hurricane over the next 24 hours.

…WEATHER RAPIDLY DETERIORATING IN THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS AS
HURRICANE IRENE APPROACHES…
Location: 21.3°N 72.4°W
Max sustained: 90 mph
Moving: WNW at 9 mph
Min pressure: 969 mb
Issued at 1100 PM EDT TUE AUG 23 2011

The storm is now projected to hug the coast instead of barreling inland with the eye of the hurricane projected to be over New Jersey by Sunday afternoon. NOAA also warns that the storm has a good chance of becoming a major hurricane over the next 24 hours.
Hurricane IRENE 5-Day Uncertainty Track Image
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NASA satellites have recorded the hurricane developing into a category 3 major hurricane over the 12 hour period since NOAA issued the alert.
The media is now warning that Irene has the potential to be the worst hurricane in memory as Irene continues to strengthen.

NASA Satellite Image Of Eye Of Hurricane Irene

The GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Irene entering the Bahamas on August 24, 2011 at 1302 UTC (9:02 a.m. EDT). Irene became a major hurricane shortly before this image and now has a clear, visible eye. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

NASA Time Lapse Satellite Video Of Hurricane Irene Developing Into Major Category 3 Hurricane

 

GOES-13 satellite imagery in 15 minute intervals from August 22 at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 UTC) until August 24 at 8:40 a.m. EDT shows Irene moving over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and toward the southeastern Bahamas. Irene’s eye becomes visible on August 24 at 0055 UTC (Aug. 23 at 8:55 p.m. EDT). Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters.
Here is the latest NOAA forecast:

THE SATELLITE PRESENTATION OF THE HURRICANE HAS CONTINUED TO IMPROVE THIS AFTERNOON.  A LARGE AREA OF DEEP CONVECTION WITH VERY COLD CLOUD TOPS HAS EXPANDED NEAR THE EYEWALL AND NOW SOLIDLY SURROUNDS THE EYE.  BEFORE DEPARTING IRENE...THE AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT MEASURED A PEAK 700 MB FLIGHT-LEVEL WIND OF 116 KT IN THE NORTHEASTERN EYEWALL AND A DROPSONDE MEASURED A MINIMUM PRESSURE OF 954 MB.  THESE DATA SUPPORT AN INITIAL INTENSITY OF 105 KT.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN FAVORABLE FOR SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO. THE UW-CIMMS OBJECTIVE SECONDARY EYEWALL FORMATION TECHNIQUE CONTINUES TO PREDICT A HIGH CHANCE OF AN EYEWALL REPLACEMENT DURING THE NEXT DAY OR SO. IN FACT...A RECENT TRMM MICROWAVE PASS SHOWED SOME EVIDENCE OF A SECONDARY EYEWALL. THESE EYEWALL CYCLES CAN PRODUCE HARD TO PREDICT FLUCTUATIONS IN INTENSITY. FOR NOW...THE NEW INTENSITY FORECAST CALL FOR SOME ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING FOLLOWED BY A LEVELING OFF OF THE INTENSITY. IN 3-4 DAYS....INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY SHEAR AND COOLER SSTS SHOULD INDUCE GRADUAL WEAKENING...ALTHOUGH IRENE IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN A LARGE AND POWERFUL HURRICANE...OR EVEN GROW IN SIZE...AS IT NEARS NEW ENGLAND.   THE HURRICANE HAS BEEN MOVING NORTHWESTWARD OR 310/10 KT. IRENE IS EXPECTED TO TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST THEN NORTH THROUGH A BREAK IN THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN ATLANTIC DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.  AFTER THAT TIME...THE HURRICANE IS FORECAST TO TURN NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD AROUND THE NORTHWESTERN SIDE OF THE RIDGE.  BETWEEN 72 AND 96 HOURS...THERE REMAINS UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHETHER IRENE TURNS BACK TOWARD THE NORTH AHEAD OF A MID-LATITUDE TROUGH MOVING INTO THE GREAT LAKES REGION AT THAT TIME.  THE NEW ECMWF SHOWS MUCH MORE AMPLIFICATION OF THE TROUGH... WHICH HAS RESULTED IN ITS TRACK SHIFTING OVER 100 MILES TO THE WEST...AND THIS SKILLFUL LONG-RANGE MODEL NOW DEFINES THE WESTERN EDGE OF THE GUIDANCE ENVELOPE.  OVERALL...THE GUIDANCE ENVELOPE HAS SHIFTED A LITTLE WESTWARD AT DAYS 4 AND 5. THE NEW TRACK FORECAST IS CLOSE TO THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY AND IS BETWEEN THE GFS AND ECMWF MODELS.  THIS IS ALSO CLOSE TO THE TVCA AND EXPERIMENTAL HURRICANE FORECAST IMPROVEMENT PROJECT...HFIP...CONSENSUS TRACKS.

Here is the latest NOAA alert:

...DANGEROUS HURRICANE IRENE HITTING THE SOUTHEASTERN BAHAMAS HARD...  SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...23.1N 74.7W ABOUT 30 MI...45 KM ESE OF LONG ISLAND ABOUT 215 MI...345 KM SE OF NASSAU MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...120 MPH...195 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 310 DEGREES AT 12 MPH...19 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...954 MB...28.17 INCHES

NASA reports:

Irene Becomes a Major Hurricane on GOES-13 Satellite Video
When a satellite can see a hurricane’s eye clearly from space, that’s an indication of a strong tropical cyclone and the GOES-13 satellite saw just that in Hurricane Irene this morning as she became a major hurricane. An animation of GOES-13 satellite imagery released from NASA today shows Irene’s transition into a powerhouse and pinpointed when her eye became visible from space.

Hurricane Irene reached Category 3 status this morning, the threshold for a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale that measures hurricane intensity.

The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 provides continuous visible and infrared imagery of the eastern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean basin from its position in space. GOES satellites are operated by NOAA, and the NASA GOES Project located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. creates images and compiled them into the video of the storm as it developed from June 27 to June 28.
The animation includes sped up infrared and visible frames of data from the GOES-13 satellite and is squeezed down to 36 seconds. The movie shows satellite imagery that was captured in 15 minute intervals from August 22 at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 UTC) until August 24 at 8:40 a.m. EDT shows Irene moving over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and toward the southeastern Bahamas. Irene’s eye becomes visible on August 24 at 0055 UTC (Aug. 23 at 8:55 p.m. EDT).

Irene became a major hurricane at 8 a.m. EDT today, August 24, 2011 as it headed toward the Crooked and Acklins Islands in the Bahamas. Irene’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 115 mph (186 kmh) making Category three status. Additional strengthening is forecast by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Category

three hurricanes can cause “devastating damage” according to the NHC’s webpage: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/sshws.shtml.

Irene is located about 55 miles southeast of Acklins Island, Bahamas, near 21.9 North and 73.3 West. It was moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kmh) and had a minimum central pressure near 957 millibars.
A hurricane warning is in effect for the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands. An unofficial reporting station at Pine Cay, located in the Caicos Islands reported a wind gust to 65 mph (105 kmh) earlier today.

Rainfall amount across Hispaniola and Puerto Rico will be between 1 and 3 inches as Irene pushes away. However, isolated maximum storm total amounts of 15 inches are possible with flash floods and mud slides in areas of steep terrain. In the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos islands high rainfall totals are forecast by NHC of between 6 to 12 inches are expected.

The NHC warns that “an extremely dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels over the central and northwestern Bahamas and by as much as 5 to 8 feet above normal tide levels over the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands.”

Hurricane Irene is a large storm that has continued to grow over the last several days as it has strengthened. Tropical storm-force winds extend out to 205 miles from its center, making Irene about 410 miles in diameter! Hurricane force-winds extend out to 40 miles, or 80 miles in diameter.

The NHC’s current forecast track for Hurricane Irene takes the storm to a landfall in eastern North Carolina as a major hurricane on Saturday, August 27. The NASA GOES Project will continue to provide imagery and animations from the GOES-13 satellite daily as Irene nears the U.S.
Text Credit: Rob Gutro, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.