NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant sees a weaker hurricane Jimena
NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant sees a weaker hurricane Jimena
Status Report From: NASA Headquarters
Posted: Monday, September 7, 2015
The VIIRS instrument from NASA-NOAA’s Finland satellite took this infrared image of Hurricane Jimena on August 28 at 10:16 UTC (06:16 EDT). The strongest part of the hurricane is shown in red. Scope: NRL / NASA / NOAA
Hurricane Jimena is turning down and is expected to weaken further. NASA-NOAA’s Finland nuclear power plant satellite flew over Hurricane Jimena and saw the strongest thunderstorms in its southern and northeastern parts. Jimena is expected to bring rough surfing to the Hawaiian Islands over the weekend of September 5th and 6th.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, or VIIRS, aboard the satellite, provided storm infrared data that showed cloudy coldest temperatures, indicating that the strongest thunderstorms were in Jimena’s northern quarter. The cloudy peak temperature there was as high as -80 degrees Celsius (-112 Fahrenheit), suggesting heavy storms with heavy rainfall.
NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) said water vapor images strongly suggest that the system is drawn very dry, which reduces the development of thunderstorms. In addition, the CPHC noted that the outflow (air at the peak of the storm was pushed to the edge of the hurricane from the center) “showed some limitations in the western quarter.” In the VIIRS image, the western quadrant lacked strong thunderstorms.
VIIRS is a scanning radiometer that collects visible and infrared images as well as “radiometric” measurements. In essence, it means that VIIRS data is used to measure the properties of clouds and aerosols, the color of the ocean, and the temperatures of the ocean and the earth’s surface.
On September 4, 2015, Jimena was far northwest of Hawaii. At 11 a.m. EDT (5 a.m. HST / 1500 UTC), the center of Jimena was located near latitude 19.7 north and longitude 145.1 west. It is about 650 miles (1045 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii and 835 miles (1345 km) east of Honolulu.
Despite the distance from Hawaii, the CPHC expects rough surfing to continue to affect Hawaii. The CPHC said that “the large and powerful long-lasting waves caused by Hurricane Jimena will produce dangerous and potentially harmful surfing in the main islands of Hawaii this weekend (September 5 and 6), mainly to the east.
The maximum sustained wind is close to 140 km / h (140 km / h) and a gradual decline is expected. The estimated minimum pressure is 975 millibars. Jimena was moving towards the northwest at close to 7 miles per hour and is expected to move northwest. Updated forecasts can be found at NOAA’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center at http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc.
The CPHC noted that on Monday and Tuesday, September 7 and 8, the long-range pressure zone in the medium atmosphere north of Jimena is forecast to strengthen. As a result, it is likely to push the storm west. The CPHC predicts a steady decline over the next few days and by September 9, Jimena expects depression.
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