Tag: Dolly 2020

Dolly (was Subtropical Depression 4) – North Atlantic Ocean

June 24, 2020 – NASA Finds Post-Tropical Cyclone Dolly Exiting the Tropical Stage

NASA’s Terra satellite provided a night-time look at what is now Post-Tropical Storm Dolly in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. Terra found that all of Dolly’s clouds were on one side of the storm as the storm weakened further.

Terra image of Dolly
NASA’s Terra satellite provided an infrared image of Post-Tropical Cyclones Dolly during the early morning hours of June 24, 2020 that showed the bulk of its storms (dark blue) were south of its center. Credit: NASA Worldview

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) defines a post-tropical cyclone as a former tropical cyclone. This generic term describes a cyclone that no longer possesses sufficient tropical characteristics to be considered a tropical cyclone. Post-tropical cyclones can continue carrying heavy rains and high winds. Note that former tropical cyclones that have become fully extratropical and remnant lows are two classes of post-tropical cyclones.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the NHC issued their final advisory on Post-Tropical Storm Dolly as the storm weakened to a remnant low-pressure area. The center of Post-Tropical Cyclone Dolly was located near latitude 42.5 north, longitude 57.8 west. That is about 370 miles (595 km) southwest of Cape Race Newfoundland, Canada. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 kph) with higher gusts.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars. The post-tropical cyclone is moving toward the northeast near 16 mph (26 kph) and this general motion is expected to continue through tonight.

In the early morning hours of June 24, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured an infrared image of Post-Tropical Cyclone Dolly’s brightness temperatures. Brightness temperature is actually a measure of the photons seen in the 11-micron wavelength by the MODIS instrument aboard Terra. They are presented in units of temperature. The infrared image provided temperature data that revealed the coldest, highest clouds were about 213.8 Kelvin (minus 76.2 degrees Fahrenheit/minus 60.1 degrees Celsius). Those areas indicated the strongest thunderstorms within the low-pressure area and were all displaced to the south of the center.

Because Dolly is now moving over cool waters below 20 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit), forecasters do not expect any more development of strong thunderstorms. Tropical cyclones require sea surface temperatures of at least 26.6 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain strength and generate thunderstorms.

Therefore, the low-pressure area is forecast to gradually spin down through Wednesday [June 24] night. It will likely open to an elongated area of low pressure known as a surface trough sometime on Thursday as it continues to move northeastward.

The National Hurricane Center said, “Gradual weakening is expected, and Post-Tropical Cyclone Dolly is expected to dissipate by Thursday [June 25] morning.”

NASA’s Terra 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.

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

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dolly (was Subtropical Depression 4) – North Atlantic Ocean

June 23, 2020 – NASA Satellite Gives a Hello to Tropical Storm Dolly

During the morning of June 23, the fourth system in the Northern Atlantic Ocean was a subtropical depression. By the afternoon, the subtropical depression took on tropical characteristics and was renamed Dolly. NASA’s Terra satellite greeted Tropical Storm Dolly by taking an image of the new tropical storm.

Terra image of Dolly
NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of Tropical Storm Dolly in the western North Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA Worldview

At 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) classified Dolly as a tropical storm. The NHC Discussion said, “A (9:48 a.m. EDT) 1348 UTC an ASCAT-A scatterometer [a satellite instrument that measures wind speed and direction] pass, arriving just after the previous advisory was issued, indicates that the cyclone is producing winds of 35 to 40 knots (40 to 46 mph/65 to 74 kph) in its southern semicircle.  In addition, the radius of maximum winds has contracted to about 40 nautical miles. This, along with the current convective pattern, suggests that the system has made a transition from a subtropical to a tropical cyclone, and it has been designated as Tropical Storm Dolly.”

The center of Tropical Storm Dolly was located near latitude 39.4 degrees north and longitude 61.7 degrees west. That is about 370 miles (600 km) south-southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Dolly was moving toward the east-northeast near 13 mph (20 kph).  A turn toward the northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected tonight and on Wednesday, June 24.

Satellite-derived wind data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph (75 kph) with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) to the south of the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1002 millibars.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Dolly in the western North Atlantic Ocean on June 23, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The image showed a thick band of thunderstorms wrapping around the center from the southern to the eastern quadrant of the storm. The image was created by NASA Worldview at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

The National Hurricane Center said, “Weakening is forecast during the next day or two as Dolly moves over colder waters, and the system is expected to become post-tropical on Wednesday. The low should then dissipate by early Thursday.”

NASA’s Terra 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.

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

By Rob Gutro
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center