May 21, 2020 – NASA Calculates Former Cyclone Amphan’s Massive Rainfall
When Cyclone Amphan was a Category 5 hurricane while tracking through the Bay of Bengal, NASA calculated the massive rainfall it generated. By May 21, NASA’s Terra satellite showed the once powerful storm’s remnants now over Bangladesh.
GPM IMERG estimated rainfall totals from Cyclone Amphan from May 16 – 19, 2020. GPM data revealed Amphan generated over 914 mm or 36 inches of rainfall over the Bay. Credit: NASA Goddard, Owen Kelley
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM Core Observatory satellite observed Tropical Cyclone Amphan as it tracked north over the Bay of Bengal during the week of May 18. NASA monitored the heavy rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Amphan.
NASA uses the GPM and other satellite data to generate a near-realtime rain estimate. That estimate comes from the NASA’s Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) algorithm, which combines observations from a fleet of satellites, in near-realtime, to provide near-global estimates of precipitation every 30 minutes.
“The largest rainfall accumulation had fallen over the Bay of Bengal on May 18 while Amphan was at category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale,” said Owen Kelley, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who created a rainfall image. GPM data revealed Amphan generated over 914 mm or 36 inches of rainfall over an area in the Bay from May 16 to 19, 2020.
Amphan made landfall at [5 a.m. EDT] 0900 UTC (2:30 PM local time) on May 20, 2020. Landfall occurred near the India-Bangladesh border along the northern edge of the Bay of Bengal.
On May 21, NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of the remnants of former tropical cyclone Amphan, now over Bangladesh. Credit: NASA Worldview
On May 21, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of the remnants of former tropical cyclone Amphan, located over Bangladesh. Amphan’s remnants are expected to dissipate over the week.
May 20, 2020 – NASA Satellites Covering Typhoon Amphan Headed for Landfall
NASA satellites have been providing forecasters with various types of imagery on Typhoon Amphan as it heads toward a landfall near the border of eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20.
On May 20, 2020 at 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 UTC), the MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite found coldest cloud top temperatures (yellow) in a large area around Amphan’s center of circulation and along the coast on northeastern India. It was as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). Credit: NASA/NRL
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided visible imagery of Amphan and NASA’s Aqua satellite provided an infrared view of the storm’s cloud top temperatures. Amphan was moving north through the Bay of Bengal and forecast to make landfall in northeastern India near Kolkata, which is just west of the border with Bangladesh.
The Bay of Bengal is located in the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. The Bay is framed by India to the west, Bangladesh to the north, and Myanmar to the east.
On May 19, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image Amphan. The image showed that Amphan covered the northern part of the Bay of Bengal.
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided this visible image of Typhoon Amphan headed toward landfall near the border of eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20, 2020. The image showed that Amphan covered the northern part of the Bay of Bengal. Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
Tropical cyclones are made up hundreds of thunderstorms, and infrared data can show where the strongest storms are located. They can do that because infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach highest into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures. Convection is rising air that condenses and forms the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone. When it is strong, it pushes clouds higher into the troposphere (the layer of atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface). The higher you go in the troposphere, the colder the air temperature gets and colder cloud tops indicate stronger storms.
On May 20, 2020, at 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that both fly aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite found coldest cloud top temperatures in a large area around Amphan’s center of circulation and along the coast on northeastern India. It was as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). NASA research has found that cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms with the potential to generate heavy rainfall.
On May 20, 2020 at 3:29 a.m. EDT (0729 UTC), the AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite found coldest cloud top temperatures (purple) in a large area around Amphan’s center of circulation and along the coast on northeastern India. It was as cold as or colder than minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). Credit: NASA/JPL, Heidar Thrastarson
On May 20 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), Tropical Cyclone Amphan was located near latitude 20.5 degrees north and longitude 87.9 degrees east, approximately, 129 miles south-southwest of Kolkata, India. Amphan was moving to the north-northeast and had maximum sustained winds 85 knots (98 mph/157 kph). Amphan continued to hold on to Category 2 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said that Amphan was weakening as it moves north-northeast toward landfall. That landfall occurred in the morning hours of May 20 Eastern Daylight Time.
The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in New Dehli, India reported, “Amphan crossed West Bengal-Bangladesh coast between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) across Sunderbans near latitude 21.65 degrees north and longitude 88.3 degrees east between 1530 and 1730 [India Standard Time or] IST (6 and 8 a.m. EDT) on May 20 with wind speed of 155-165 kph [96 to 103 mph].” Amphan is forecast to move inland in a north-northeasterly direction.
Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA researches these storms to determine how they rapidly intensify, develop and behave. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.
May 19, 2020 – NASA-NOAA Satellite Sees Amphan’s Eye Obscured
Early on May 18, 2020, Tropical Cyclone Amphan was a Category 5 storm in the Northern Indian Ocean. On May 19, satellite data from NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite revealed that the storm has weakened and the eye was covered by high clouds.
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan on May 18 at 4:28 p.m. EDT (2028 UTC) and the VIIRS instrument aboard captured cloud top temperatures using infrared light. Cloud top temperatures were as cold as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius), indicating powerful storms. Credit: NASA/NOAA/UWM-CIMISS, William Straka III
When NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan on May 18 at 4:28 p.m. EDT (2028 UTC), infrared imagery revealed very cold cloud top temperatures and an obscured eye. The higher the cloud top, the colder it is, and the stronger the storm. The VIIRS instrument found several areas within where cloud top temperatures were as cold as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius), indicating powerful storms. Storms with cloud tops that cold have been found to generate heavy rainfall.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted, “Satellite imagery also revealed that the eyewall is open on the eastern side of the eye, indicative of the easterly vertical shear and mid-level dry air moving into the tropical cyclone.”
On May 19 at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), Tropical Cyclone Amphan was located near latitude 16.5 degrees north and longitude 86.8 degrees east, that is about 377 nautical miles south-southwest of Kolkata, India. Amphan was moving to the north-northeast and had maximum sustained winds near 110 knots.
Amphan is weakening as it moves north-northeast. The storm is forecast to make landfall near Kolkata on May 20 soon after 2 a.m. EDT (0600 UTC), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
Typhoons/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.
May 18, 2020 – NASA Finds Heavy Water Vapor Concentration Rings Eye of Cyclone Amphan
When NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean on May 18, it gathered water vapor data that showed the intensity of powerful Tropical Cyclone Amphan. Amphan is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
On May 18 at 3:40 a.m. EST (0740 UTC), NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan, located in the Northern Indian Ocean. Aqua found highest concentrations of water vapor (brown) and coldest cloud top temperatures were around the clear eye. Credits: NASA/NRL
Water vapor analysis of tropical cyclones tells forecasters how much potential a storm has to develop. Water vapor releases latent heat as it condenses into liquid. That liquid becomes clouds and thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone. Temperature is important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger the storms.
NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan on May 18 at 3:40 a.m. EST (0740 UTC), and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument gathered water vapor content and temperature information. The MODIS image showed highest concentrations of water vapor and coldest cloud top temperatures circled the visible eye.
MODIS data showed coldest cloud top temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius) in those storms. Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to produce heavy rainfall.
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of the huge Tropical Cyclone Amphan on May 18, just off the eastern coast of India. The image showed the extent of the storm, which was over open ocean, stretching from just north of Sri Lanka, north, past the Indian states of Tamil Nadu to Andrha Pradesh.
At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on May 18, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that Amphan’s eye was centered near latitude 13.6 degrees north and longitude 86.4 degrees east, about 301 nautical miles southeast of Visakhapatnam, India. Amphan was moving to the north and had maximum sustained winds 140 knots (161 mph/259 kph).
NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of the huge Tropical Cyclone Amphan on May 18, just off the eastern coast of India. Credit: NASA Worldview
Amphan will move north and is expected to strengthen slightly. JTWC said the storm will then gradually weaken prior to landfall near Kolkata, India in two days.
NASA’s Aqua satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.
Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.
May 17, 2020 – NASA Finds Heavy Rain in New Northern Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclone Amphan
When the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over the Northern Indian Ocean early on May 17, it gathered data of rainfall rates occurring on the western side of the newly formed and very large tropical cyclone Amphan.
The GPM core satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 17 at 3:36 a.m. EDT (0736 UTC) and found the heaviest rainfall (pink) in in two small areas in large thunderstorm bands west of the center, where it was falling at a rate of over 36 mm (about 1.4 inch) per hour. Most of the rainfall occurring throughout the storm was falling at a rate of 1 inch (25 mm) per hour (yellow). GPM data was overlaid on cloud imagery from Japan’s Himawari-8 satellite. Credit: NASA/JAXA/NRL
Amphan formed on Saturday, May 16 and was designated Tropical Cyclone 01B. Overnight, it quickly strengthened to hurricane force.
The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission or GPM’s core satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Amphan in the Northern Indian Ocean on May 17 at 3:36 a.m. EDT (0736 UTC). GPM found the heaviest rainfall in in two small areas in large thunderstorm bands west of the center, where it was falling at a rate of over 36 mm (about 1.4 inch) per hour. Most of the rainfall throughout the rest of the storm was falling at a rate of 1 inch (25 mm) per hour.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC said that enhanced infrared satellite imagery showed a very large system (over 600 nautical miles)/690 miles/1,111 km) across with a ragged 10 nautical mile (~12 mile/~19 kilometer) wide cloud filled eye and expansive rain bands wrapping tighter toward the center.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on May 17, Amphan’s maximum sustained winds had increased to near 75 knots (85 mph/139 kph) making it equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Amphan was located near latitude 12.3 degrees north and longitude 86.4 degrees east. Amphan was located approximately 380 nautical miles south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, India. It is forecast to continue moving in a northerly direction.
JTWC meteorologists forecast Amphan to track north and make landfall on May 20 near the eastern India/western Bangladesh border. The current forecast takes Amphan’s landfall between Kolkata, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh, as a Cyclone.
Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.
GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.
