When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Cebile it measured cloud top temperatures and saw its eye circled by an impressive ring of powerful thunderstorms just before it went through eyewall replacement.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Cebile on Jan. 29 at 3:17 a.m. EST (0817 UTC). Powerful thunderstorms with cloud top temperatures as cold as or colder than minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) surrounded the eye. Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to produce heavy rainfall.
On Jan. 30, Cebile underwent eyewall replacement and its pinhole eye expanded to 60 nautical miles wide from 5 nautical miles wide.
Read more at NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Image: The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Tropical Cyclone Cebile on Jan. 29 at 3:17 a.m. EST (0817 UTC). Coldest cloud tops and strongest storms appear in purple. (Credit: NASA JPL/ Heidar Thrastarson)
