Tag: Barbara 2019

July 5, 2019, Update – NASA-NOAA Satellite Catches Hurricane Barbara’s Closing Eye

Hurricane Barbara continued to track west through the Eastern Pacific Ocean when NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead on July 4. Satellite imagery revealed clouds filling into Barbara’s eye as wind shear continued to weaken the storm and push the bulk of its clouds north of the center.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of the storm. The VIIRS image and microwave satellite imagery indicates that Barbara is being torn apart by winds outside or around the storm. In general, wind shear is a measure of how the speed and direction of winds change with altitude. The National Hurricane Center noted that the eyewall structure appears to be disintegrating and the low-level center is located to the south of the remaining strong thunderstorms.

There are several factors weakening the once Category 4 hurricane: increasing southwesterly wind shear, dry air moving into the storm and sapping the moisture and energy, and cooler sea surface temperatures that lay ahead of the storm as it continues moving west.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on July 5, NOAA’s National Hurricane Center said the eye of Hurricane Barbara was located near latitude 17.7 degrees north and longitude 132.6 degrees west. That puts the eye about 1,475 miles (2,375 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii. Barbara is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph (19 kph). The forecast calls for a gradual turn toward the west through Saturday, July 6. The estimated minimum central pressure is 980 millibars (28.94 inches).

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 80 mph (130 kph) with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles (55 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km).

Barbara is on a weakening trend. 24 hours earlier the storm had maximum sustained winds near 120 mph (195 kph). Forecasters expect additional rapid weakening and Barbara is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone late on July 6.

For updated forecasts on Barbara, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov

Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

 

July 03, 2019 – NASA Peers Into Hurricane Barbara’s Heavy Rainfall

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over the storm and measured the rate in which rain was falling throughout it.

The GPM core satellite passed over Hurricane Barbara at 3:21 a.m. EDT (0721 UTC) on July 3, 2019. GPM found the heaviest rainfall rates were occurring around the eye. There, rain was falling at a rate of more than 50 mm (2 inches) per hour. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center noted at 4 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Barbara was located near latitude 13.5 degrees North and longitude 125.6 degrees West.  Barbara is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph (22 kph).

Barbara is about 1,995 miles (3,210 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii. A motion toward the west-northwest or northwest, but at a slightly slower forward speed, is expected Wednesday through Friday.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 155 mph (250 kph) with higher gusts.  Barbara is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.  Gradual weakening is expected on Wednesday, followed by faster weakening on Thursday and Friday. Barbara is forecast to weaken to a tropical storm some time on Friday.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles (75 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 933 mb (27.55 inches).

For forecast updates on Barbara, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

July 02, 2019 – Barbara Now a Major Hurricane on NASA Satellite Imagery

NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites passed over the Eastern Pacific Ocean after Tropical Storm Barbara strengthened into the first hurricane of the season. Barbara intensified rapidly into a major hurricane.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that Barbara intensified early during the morning of July 2 and could strengthen a little more. Fortunately, Barbara is over 1,000 miles west of the southern tip of Baja California, and there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

On July 2, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of Barbara that showed powerful thunderstorms circling an eye. Bands of thunderstorms wrapped into the center from the southern and eastern quadrants.

An infrared look by NASA’s Aqua satellite on July 2, at 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 UTC revealed where the strongest storms were located within Hurricane Barbara. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite analyzed cloud top temperatures and found cloud top temperatures of strongest thunderstorms as cold as or colder than minus 81.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 63.1 degrees Celsius) circling the eye, which was seen in a lighter color in a false-colored NASA image. Cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms that have the capability to create heavy rain.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the NHC noted the eye of Hurricane Barbara was located near latitude 12.5 degrees north and longitude 122.2 degrees west. Barbara is about 1,080 miles or 1,740 km southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Barbara is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph (22 kph). Barbara is forecast to slow in forward speed later today and then turn toward the northwest in a day or two. The estimated minimum central pressure is 948 millibars (28.00 inches).

Satellite data indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 130 mph (215 kph) with higher gusts.  Barbara is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 25 miles (35 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles (295 km).

Some additional strengthening is possible today, but weakening is likely to begin on Wednesday and continue into Thursday.

For updated forecasts, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

July 01, 2019 – NASA Looks at Tropical Storm Barbara’s Heavy Rainfall

Tropical Storm Barbara formed on Sunday, June 30 in the Eastern Pacific Ocean over 800 miles from the coast of western Mexico. The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over the storm and measured the rate in which rain was falling throughout it.

Barbara formed as a tropical storm around 11 a.m. EDT (1500) on June 30, and slowly intensified.

The GPM core satellite passed over Tropical Storm Barbara at 3:31 a.m. EDT (0731 UTC) on July 1, 2019. GPM found the heaviest rainfall rates were occurring northeast of the center of circulation. There, rain was falling at a rate of 41 mm (about 1.6 inches) per hour. The rainfall in that area are part of a band of thunderstorms wrapping into the low-level center, and there were a couple of other areas in that same band with the same rainfall rate. GPM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA.

NOAA’s National Hurricane Center noted at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on July 1, the center of Tropical Storm Barbara was located near latitude 11.2 degrees north, longitude 115.8 degrees west. That’s about 895 miles (1,445 km) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Barbara is moving toward the west near 21 mph (33 kph). A westward to west-northwestward motion at a slower forward speed is expected over the next few days. The estimated minimum central pressure is 998 millibars (29.47 inches). Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph (100 kph) with higher gusts.

Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Barbara is expected to become a hurricane later today.

For forecast updates on Barbara, visit: www.nhc.noaa.gov.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center