July 18, 2019 – NASA’s Aqua Satellite Finds Tropical Storm Danas Over Ryuku Islands
NASA’s Aqua satellite found Tropical Storm Danas moving over Japan’s Ryuku island chain in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.
On July 16, 2019, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Tropical Depression Danas in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
The Ruyku islands include Osumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, Yonaguni and the Sakishima Islands. The island chain extends southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan.
On July 18 at 1:20 a.m. EDT (0520 UTC), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Danas that showed a large storm over Japan’s Ryuku Island chain. The image shows that Danas is being affected by vertical wind shear, where winds at different levels of the atmosphere around the tropical cyclone are pushing against it and affecting the storm’s shape. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted, “A large area of deep convection sheared 60 nautical miles southward of a consolidating low-level center.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), on July 18, the center of Danas was located near latitude 26.7 degrees north and longitude 123.6 degrees west. Danas was about 215 nautical miles west of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Danas was moving to the north and had maximum sustained winds near 40 knots (46 mph/74 kph).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Danas to veer to the north-northeast and run parallel to the east coast of China, moving into the Yellow Sea and across the Korean peninsula. Danas is expected to dissipate after it moves into the Sea of Japan.
July 17, 2019 – NASA Finds Tropical Storm Danas Northeast of the Philippines
NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Tropical Storm Danas as it continued to move north and away from the Philippines.
On July 17, 2019, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Tropical Storm Danas in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, located just northeast of the Philippines. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
On July 17 at 12:40 a.m. EDT (0440 UTC), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible look at Danas. The strongest thunderstorms appeared southeast of the center of circulation in the MODIS image. Danas was located northeast of Luzon, Philippines, in the Philippine Sea.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on July 17, the center of Tropical Storm Danas was located near latitude 21.1 degrees north and longitude 124.0 degrees east. The center of Danas was about 421 nautical miles south-southwest of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Island, Japan. Danas was moving to the north-northeast and had maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (40 mph/74 kph).
Danas is forecast to move north over the next couple of days and strengthen. Its center is expected to pass near Ishigakijima island on July 18.
July 17, 2019 – NASA Tracking Post-Tropical Cyclone Barry to Indiana
NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of the clouds associated with Post-Tropical Cyclone Barry moving through the mid-Mississippi Valley on July 16, and headed toward the Ohio Valley.
On July 16, 2019, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Post-Tropical Cyclone Barry in the Mississippi Valley, moving toward the Ohio Valley. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
On July 16, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible look at Barry. Strongest thunderstorms appeared over northwestern Arkansas, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky at the time of the image. Barry’s remnant clouds were also spreading into southern Indiana.
By 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on July 17, NOAA’s National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland noted that Barry’s center of circulation had moved to about 90 miles (150 km) northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana. The center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Barry was located near latitude 40.8 degrees north and longitude 85.3 degrees west. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the east-northeast near 22 mph (35 kph) and this motion is expected to continue through tonight. Maximum sustained winds are near 15 mph (30 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1010 millibars (29.83 inches).
Flash flood watches are in effect across portions of the northern Mid-Atlantic. Barry is expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 1 to 3 inches from portions of the Upper Ohio and Upper Tennessee Valleys into the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England.
July 16, 2019 – GPM IMERG Animation of Rainfall Accumulations from Hurricane Barry
This 6-day animation shows the heavy precipitation that Hurricane Barry (2019) producing from July 11 to 16 in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Central U.S. While forecasters were initially concerned that the largest accumulations would extend far over land, this animation shows that the largest accumulations remained mostly off shore. The precipitation estimates shown in this animation come from a near-realtime merging and calibration of observations made by the satellites of many nations. The IMERG algorithm, run at NASA Goddard, performs this data merging. The left side of the movie shows the total accumulation starting in the early hours of July 11, 2019, while the right side shows the accumulation during just the most recent 3-hour period. https://twitter.com/NASARain/status/1151539201621536768
July 16, 2019 – Tropical Depression Danas Affecting Philippines in NASA Satellite Imagery
NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean after the sixth tropical depression formed. Tropical Depression Danas formed northeast of the Northern Philippines and was already affecting the country.
On July 16, 2019, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Tropical Depression Danas in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
On July 16, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided a visible image of Danas that showed a large depression the stretched the entire length of the Philippines. Strongest thunderstorms remained off the coast in the image, but the northwestern and western quadrants were already over the Luzon and Visayas regions.
At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Danas was located near latitude 17.2 degrees north and longitude 124.9 degrees west. Danas was about 587 nautical miles southwest of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Danas was moving to the west-northwest and had maximum sustained winds near 25 knots (29 mph/46 kph).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Danas to turn to the north. Danas’ center is expected to stay over water until it makes landfall in three days south of Shanghai, China.
July 16, 2019 – NASA Looks at Barry’s Rainfall Rates
After Barry made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, NASA’s GPM core satellite analyzed the rate in which rain was falling throughout the storm. Now that Barry is a post-tropical cyclone moving through the mid-Mississippi Valley and toward the Ohio Valley, it is bringing some of that rainfall with it.
This color-coded GPM image shows instantaneous surface rain rates on July 14 at 02:42 UTC (July 13 at 10:42 p.m. EDT) from Hurricane Barry after coming ashore along the southern coast of Louisiana. The GPM data image revealed heavy rain bands wrapping up around the eastern side of the storm’s center from the Gulf of Mexico and into central Louisiana and Mississippi. Rainfall rates in those areas were greater than 10 mm/hour (0.4 inches per hour). Credit: NASA/JAXA, using GPM data archived at https://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
NASA Analyzes Barry’s Rain Rates
GPM core satellite passed over Barry and analyzed its rainfall rates several hours after it had made landfall on the coast of Louisiana. Instantaneous surface rain rates were derived from the Dual-polarization Radar onboard the GPM core satellite on July 14 at 02:42 UTC (July 13 at 10:42 p.m. EDT). The GPM data revealed heavy rain bands wrapping up around the eastern side of the storm’s center from the Gulf of Mexico and into central Louisiana and Mississippi. Rainfall rates in those areas were greater than 10 mm/hour (0.4 inches per hour). Some of the storm’s asymmetry was also revealed by the fact that the rain shield is much heavier and broader south of the center of circulation.
At the time of this image, the center of Barry was located about 35 miles southwest of Alexandria, Louisiana and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. The following day, July 14, Barry continued its northward trek into northwestern Louisiana and weakened to a tropical depression before it continued into Arkansas. Despite numerous power outages and localized flooding, there were no reports of fatalities or serious injuries due to Barry.
Barry’s History
Barry formed from an area of low pressure that originated over the Tennessee Valley from a thunderstorm complex, which then drifted southward through the Florida Panhandle, off of the coast and out over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico on July 10. There it provided a focus for showers and thunderstorms, which led to its gradual intensification. Despite the warm waters of the Gulf, the system was slow to strengthen due to inhibiting northerly wind shear. Nevertheless, it became Tropical Storm Barry on July 11 at 10:00 am CDT about 95 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River at which time it was drifting slowly westward.
NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of post-tropical cyclone Barry on July 15, 2019 as it was moving through the Mississippi Valley. Credit: NASA Worldview
Over the next day, Barry slowly intensified into a strong tropical storm as it continued to move west, but northerly wind shear and accompanying drier air caused Barry to remain rather asymmetrical with most of the heavier rain and thunderstorm activity located in the southern half of the storm. Fortunately, this precluded the storm from taking full advantage of the warm waters and quickly intensifying. It also meant that the heaviest rains stayed offshore. After drifting generally slowly westward to this point, Barry finally began to recurve to the northwest on Saturday, July 13 while gaining just enough intensity to become a hurricane before hitting the coast of Louisiana.
Barry became the first hurricane of the 2019 season just before making landfall on the south-central coast of Louisiana near Intracoastal City on Saturday, July 13. The storm came ashore around 1 p.m. CDT (18:00 UTC) with sustained winds reported at 75 mph by the National Hurricane Center, making Barry a minimal Category 1 hurricane. The biggest threats posed by Barry were heavy rains and flooding due to the storm’s slow movement, close proximity to land, and time spent organizing over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
As Barry moved further inland, it continued to recurve more towards the north and slowly increased its forward speed while weakening back to a tropical storm.
Watches and Warnings on Effect on July 16, 2019
As Post-tropical cyclone Barry moves northeastward, there are several watches and warnings in effect on July 16. Flash Flood Watches are in effect from the Ark-La-Tex eastward through the Lower and Middle Mississippi Valley. The Ark-La-Tex region consisting of Northwest Louisiana, Northeast Texas, and South Arkansas. Flash Flood Warnings are in effect for portions of southern Arkansas. Flood Warnings are in effect for portions of southern Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Coastal Flood Advisories are in effect for portions of the Louisiana coast.
Where is Barry on July 16, 2019
At 5 a.m. (0900 UTC) on Tuesday, July 16, the center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Barry was located near latitude 37.8 degrees north and longitude 92.3 degrees west. That’s about 75 miles (120 km) northeast of Springfield, Missouri. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the northeast near 14 mph (22 kph) and this motion is expected to continue today with a gradual turn more easterly by tonight. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1011 millibars (29.86 inches). Maximum sustained winds are near 15 mph (30 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours
Expected Rainfall from Barry
The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland said, “Barry is expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches across portions of southern Arkansas, northern Mississippi and far southwestern Tennessee. Isolated maximum totals exceeding 10 inches are possible across southwest Arkansas. Rainfall accumulations of 1 to 3 inches, locally higher are expected across portions of the Ohio Valley today into tonight [July 16].
July 15, 2019 – Update #2 – NASA Creates a Flood Proxy Map of Areas Affected by Tropical Storm Barry
Even before Tropical Storm Barry made landfall in Louisiana on Saturday, July 13, it had already dropped a lot of rain on the state. Using satellite data, NASA created a map that shows areas that are likely flooded.
NASA’s Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team created this Flood Proxy Map (FPM) depicting areas of Louisiana that are likely flooded as a result of heavy rain and Tropical storm Barry, shown by light blue pixels. ). The map covers an area of 220 by 236 miles (355 by 380 kilometers), shown by the large red polygon. Image Credit: NASA JPL, Sang-Ho Yun and Jungkyo Jung
“The Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., created an ARIA Flood Proxy Map (FPM) on July 13, depicting areas of Louisiana that are likely flooded as a result of heavy rain and Tropical storm Barry,” said Judy Lai-Norling, project manager for ARIA at NASA’s JPL. Those areas appear in light blue pixels on the map.
The maps were created from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data acquired on July 13, 2019 by the ALOS-2 satellite operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The map covers an area of 220 by 236 miles (355 by 380 kilometers). Each pixel measures about 27 yards (25 meters) across. This flood proxy map can be used as guidance to identify areas that are likely flooded, and may be less reliable over urban and vegetated areas.
On July 15, the National Weather Service of New Orleans noted, “Heavy rain bands associated with Tropical Depression Barry will continue to impact the area today and tonight. Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches will be possible in these heavy rain bands, especially north of the Interstate 10 and 12 corridors. Potential impacts include flash flooding due to excessive rainfall and rises on area rivers. If you live in a flood-prone area, take action to protect your property ahead of time. As always, have multiple ways to receive warnings and know where you will go if you need to move to higher ground.”
At 11:14 a.m. EDT on July 15, there were many Flash Flood Warnings still in effect. They include:
Southeastern Rapides Parish in central Louisiana…
Northern Jefferson Davis Parish in southwestern Louisiana…
Beauregard Parish in southwestern Louisiana…
Evangeline Parish in central Louisiana…
Northwestern Acadia Parish in southwestern Louisiana…
Central Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana…
Avoyelles Parish in central Louisiana…
Northern St. Landry Parish in central Louisiana…
Allen Parish in southwestern Louisiana…
At 1:30 p.m. EDT on July 15, the flood warning continues for the Intracoastal Waterway at Bayou Sorrel Lock affecting Iberville Parish, Louisiana.
The original data to created that map was provided by JAXA. It was then analyzed by the NASA-JPL/Caltech ARIA team and carried out at JPL, funded by NASA Disasters Program.
At 11 a.m. EDT on July 15, Barry was located about 70 miles (115 km) west-northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. Barry continues to track to the north near 12 mph (19 kph) and this motion is expected to become northeasterly on Tuesday and easterly on Wednesday.
For more information about ARIA, visit: http://aria.jpl.nasa.gov
July 15, 2019 – NASA’s Aqua Satellite Documents the Brief Life of Tropical Depression 4E
The Eastern Pacific Ocean generated the fourth tropical cyclone of the hurricane season on July 13 and by the next day, it had already weakened into a remnant low pressure area.
On July 14, 2019, NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the short-lived Tropical Depression 04E weakening in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).
Tropical Depression 4E formed around 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Saturday, July 13. At that time the center of Tropical Depression Four-E was located near latitude 17.3 degrees and longitude 111.0 degrees west. That’s about 395 miles (635 km) south of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph (55 kph).
On Sunday, July 14 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Four-E was located near latitude 18.2 degrees north and longitude 114.8 degrees west. The depression is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph (22 kph). A turn to the west is expected to occur later today or tonight. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars (29.74 inches). The depression weakened to a remnant low pressure area later in the day.
NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean later in the day and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard provided forecasters with a visible image of the depression. The image revealed an eastern quadrant devoid of clouds and rainfall, and the bulk of clouds were pushed northeast of the center. That’s because the storm encountered southeasterly vertical wind shear (outside winds blowing at different speeds at various levels in the atmosphere) that helped weaken the storm.
On July 15, the remnant low pressure of Tropical depression Four-E was centered near 19 degrees north latitude and 118 degrees east longitude. The National Hurricane Center noted “This remnant low will dissipate today.”
July 15, 2019 – Update #1 – NASA-NOAA Satellite Tracking Barry Through Louisiana, Arkansas
Barry, now a tropical depression, continues moving slowly north through Arkansas and rainfall and flooding remains a concern. NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed over the south central United States yesterday, July 14 and captured a visible image of then Tropical Storm Barry.
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of Barry on July 14 after it moved inland over Louisiana. The VIIRS image showed an elongated storm over Louisiana stretching over the Mississippi River Valley and into Arkansas, Mississippi, western Alabama and southwestern Tennessee.Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).
Tropical Storm Barry tracked through northwestern Louisiana on July 14, and weakened to a tropical depression. On its track, Barry dropped up to 15 inches (38 cm) of rain in some isolated placed. Barry’s rainfall created flooding along the Mississippi River.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of the storm on July 14 after it moved inland over Louisiana. The VIIRS image showed an elongated storm over Louisiana stretching over the Mississippi River Valley and into Arkansas, Mississippi, western Alabama and southwestern Tennessee.
On July 15, NOAA’s National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland said that local flash flooding remains a likely threat through the day. Flash Flood Watches and Warnings are in effect for portions of far southeast Texas through much of Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, and including parts of the mid-Mississippi Valley. Barry is expected to produce additional rain accumulations of 2 to 4 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 8 inches across Arkansas, western Tennessee and Kentucky, southeast Missouri, and northwest Mississippi.
This graphic shows a 72 hour (3 day) forecast for rainfall from Tropical Depression Barry from Monday, July 15 to Thursday, July 17. Yellow indicates 1 to 2 inches and green indicates 2 to 4 inches of potential rainfall. Credit: NWS/NOAA/NCEP/WPC
At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Barry was located near latitude 34.4 degrees north and longitude 93.5 degrees west. That’s about 80 miles (125 km) west-southwest of Little Rock Arkansas. The depression is moving toward the north near 9 mph (15 kph) and this motion is expected to continue through today, before turning off to the northeast by Tuesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 25 mph (35 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars (29.77 inches).
In addition to the heavy rainfall, the National Weather Service noted, “A couple of tornadoes are possible today from the Mid-South toward the Lower Ohio Valley.”
July 14, 2019 – NASA Examines Tropical Storm Barry Post-Landfall
Tropical Storm Barry made landfall mid-day on July 13, but infrared satellite imagery from NASA early on July 14 continued to show the heaviest rainmaking storms were still off-shore. NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed cloud top temperatures in the storm which gave an indication of the storm’s strength.
At 3:55 a.m. EDT (0755 UTC) on July 14, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite looked at Tropical Storm Barry in infrared light. MODIS found coldest cloud tops (light green) had temperatures near minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 degrees Celsius) around the center of the tropical storm which was offshore from south central Louisiana. Credit: NASA/NRL
Barry reached Category 1 hurricane strength for about three hours in the late morning and early afternoon on July 13. Barry made landfall around 2 p.m. EDT as a strong tropical storm about 5 miles (10 km) northeast of Intracoastal City, La. After making landfall, Barry weakened back to a tropical storm.
At 3:55 a.m. EDT (0755 UTC) on July 14, the MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite looked at Tropical Strom Barry infrared light. MODIS found coldest cloud tops had temperatures near minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 degrees Celsius) still off-shore from south central Louisiana. Those storms were north of center of the tropical storm. Storms with temperatures that cold are indicative of strong storms and have been shown to have the capability to generate heavy rainfall.
The heavy rainfall exacerbated by the slow movement is creating flooding dangers. Life-threatening flash flooding and significant river flooding are still expected along Barry’s path inland from Louisiana up through the lower Mississippi Valley, through at least Monday. Widespread rainfall of 4 inches or more is expected, with embedded areas of significantly heavier rain that will lead to rapid water rises.
Barry’s Status on July 14, 2019
At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC) on Sunday, July 14, 2019 the National Hurricane Center or NHC said the center of Tropical Storm Barry was located near latitude 31.4 degrees north and longitude 93.4 degrees west. That puts Barry’s center just 5 miles (10 km) west of Peason Ridge, Louisiana. Barry is moving toward the north near 6 mph (10 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Monday.
NOAA Doppler weather radar data and surface observations indicate that maximum sustained winds remain near 45 mph (75 kph) with higher gusts. These winds are occurring near the coast to the southeast of the center. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km) mainly over water to the southeast of the center.
The estimated minimum central pressure based on surface observations is 1005 mb (29.68 inches).
Warnings and Watches in Effect
The NHC posted many warnings and watches for Barry on July 14. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect from Morgan City to Cameron, Louisiana and a Storm Surge Warning is in effect from Intracoastal City to the mouth of Atchafalaya River. A Tropical Storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.
Moving Further Inland
Weakening is expected as the center moves farther inland, and Barry is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression later today. Two computer models, the GFS and ECMWF models suggest that Barry should lose much of its deep convection and
become a remnant low pressure area in 36 to 48 hours and dissipate entirely shortly after that over the Middle Mississippi Valley.
On the forecast track, the National Hurricane Center said the center of Barry will move across the western and northern portions of Louisiana today, and over Arkansas tonight and Monday.
