NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant satellite sees the tropical
NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant passed the newly formed tropical storm Ava and analyzed the storm in infrared light. Ava, the third tropical cyclone of the Southern Indian Ocean season, formed off the coast of northeastern Madagascar on January 3.
On January 3 at 4:12 a.m. EDT (0912 UTC), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on NASA-NOAA’s Suomi nuclear power plant satellite delivered infrared data collected from Ava. The infrared data provided forecasters with temperatures that indicated where the strongest storms were within the tropical storm. The coldest cloud tops and strongest storms wrapped around the center of circulation, where temperatures were as cold as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 degrees Celsius). NASA studies have shown that storms with cold cloud temperatures can produce heavy rainfall.
At 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 UTC), Ava’s center was located near 6.2 degrees south latitude and 53.0 degrees east longitude. Ava was centered about 298 nautical miles northwest of St. Denis. Ava was moving south-southeast near 6 knots (7 mph/11 kmph). Maximum sustained winds near 40 mph (46 mph / 74 kmph) and higher in gusts.
The waves generated by Ava affect the east coast as the storm moves south.
Madagascar’s Meteorological Institute issued a yellow alert for the northeast of the country. A yellow alert means that an effect is expected after 24-48 hours.
On the forecast track, the center of Ava will move southwest and approach the east coast of Madagascar on January 5. The JTWC expects Ava to continue tracking south along the east coast for a few days after that, moving south of the island. nation by January 8.
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Forecasts from the Madagascar Meteorological Department can be found at: http://www.meteomadagascar.mg/
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