Tropical Storm Ophelia developed on Oct. 9 around 5 a.m. EDT as the seventeenth, tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season. It formed in the Central Atlantic Ocean about 875 miles (1,405 km) west-southwest of the Azores islands. NASA's Terra satellite provided forecasters with a visible image of the storm as it strengthened into a tropical storm.
Tropical Storm Ophelia developed on Oct. 9 around 5 a.m. EDT as the seventeenth, tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season. It formed in the Central Atlantic Ocean about 875 miles (1,405 km) west-southwest of the Azores islands. NASA's Terra satellite provided forecasters with a visible image of the storm as it strengthened into a tropical storm.
NASA's Terra satellite passed over Ophelia when it was still a depression at 9:35 a.m. EDT (1335 UTC). But the image provided by the MODIS instrument, or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard Terra, showed that there were strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation and in a thick band east of the center.
National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Stewart noted on Oct. 10 at 1:44 p.m. EDT "Convective banding has continued to become better defined since the previous advisory, and an eye-like feature has developed in the center of the convection. However, despite the much improved satellite appearance, it appears that the increased convective organization has not yet translated into an increase in the surface winds based on a 1204Z ASCAT-B overpass, which only showed winds of 30-31 knots in the southern quadrant."
Continue reading at NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
Image: NASA's Terra satellite passed over Ophelia when it was still a depression at 9:35 a.m. EDT (1335 UTC). But the image provided by the MODIS instrument aboard showed that there were strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation and in a thick band east of the center.
Image Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
