NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant satellite sees the tropics
Tropical cyclone Bansi hit Class 4 hurricane earlier this week and developed an eye. As the storm subsided into a Category 2 storm on January 14, the eye filled with cloud. When NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant satellite passed on January 15, the storm returned to Category 4 and the eye was visible again, almost quadrupling in width.
A satellite from NOAA-NASA’s Finnish nuclear power plant crossed the tropical cyclone Bans on January 15 at 9:46 a.m. UTC (4.46 EST) as it continued to travel across the South Indian Ocean, and the image of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) revealed the storm’s eyes reopened . The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that the animated multispectral satellite imagery revealed that the storm quickly re-intensified and the wall of the eye became clearer and more symmetrical. The eye had also grown from 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles, 22.2 km) to 46 nautical miles (53.9 miles / 85.1 km).
Regional warnings were still valid, but only in Rodrigues. Warning category 3 for the tropical cyclone was in force in Rodrigues, while in Mauritius the warnings had been removed.
At 0900 UTC (4.00 EST), the maximum continuous wind in the tropical cyclone Bansi was close to 120 knots (138.1 mph / 222.2 kmph). Hurricane-force winds extend 40 nautical miles (46 miles / 74 km) from the center, while tropical storm winds extend 130 nautical miles (149.6 / 240.8 km) from the center.
The Bansi was concentrated near 18.0 south latitude and 60.7 east longitude, about 230 nautical miles (264.7 miles / 426 km) east-northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius. The bansi is moving east-southeast at a speed of 6 knots (6.9 mph / 11.1 km / h) and is expected to continue moving in this general direction.
As Bansi moves out of Rodrigues Island over the next two days, it is expected to intensify further and the maximum sustained wind is projected to reach the level of the Saffir-Simpson scale after 145 knots (166.9 / 268.5 km / h) before weakening again. The open waters of the South Indian Ocean.
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Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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