Infrared imagery from NASA’s Aqua satellite showed an elongated Tropical Storm Rene being battered by wind shear in the Central Atlantic Ocean.
Tropical cyclones that appear less than round are likely being affected by wind shear or outside winds transitioning into an extra-tropical cyclone or taking on the elongated appearance of a weather front. Outside winds have given Rene’s strongest storms an appearance like that of a triangle.
The shape of a tropical cyclone provides forecasters with an idea of its organization and strength. When outside winds batter a storm, it can change the storm’s shape. Winds can push most of the associated clouds and rain to one side of a storm.
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Image via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
