NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant satellite passed over the eye of hurricane Helene in the eastern Atlantic.

On September 10 at 10:42 a.m. EDT (1442 UTC), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on NASA-NOAA’s Finland Nuclear Power Plant satellite captured a visible image of Hurricane Helene. According to VIIRS images, the eye was about 20 nautical miles wide.

The next day, September 11, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center observed another satellite image of Helene showing a well-developed closed eyewall and a strong thunderstorm with cold clouds of minus 104 degrees Fahrenheit/minus 76 degrees Celsius (indicating very strong storms) wrapping around the cyclone to the south through the eastern quarters.

At 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on September 11, Hurricane Helene’s center was located near latitude 16.0 degrees north and longitude 33.6 degrees west. It is about 620 miles (995 km) west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and about 1,570 miles (2,530 km) southwest of the Azores Islands.

Maximum sustained winds near 110 mph (175 km/h) and higher in gusts. Some strengthening is possible over the next 12 hours, but after that a gradual weakening is expected.

Helene is moving to the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue slowing down into the night. On Wednesday, September 12 and Thursday, September 13, a turn to the NW and then NW is forecast.

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Updated forecasts can be found at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

Author: Rob Gutro

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center