Tag: Phanfone 2019

Dec. 27, 2019 – NASA Finds an Elongated Phanfone Now a Tropical Storm

NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite provided a visible image of Phanfone as it continued moving through the South China Sea. Visible imagery showed that the storm was less organized and elongated as the storm weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm.

Satellite imagery gives forecasters a look at the structure and strength of tropical cyclones. Visible imagery helps forecasters understand if a storm is organizing or weakening. If a storm appears more circular in nature it is an indication the storm is consolidating and strengthening. If a storm appears more elongated or asymmetrical, it is a sign that the storm is weakening.

In the visible image captured by Suomi NPP’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument, Phanfone appeared more asymmetrical.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii noted that Phanfone is being affected by vertical wind shear, which is a factor in elongating the storm. Wind shear are winds around the storm that blow against it at different levels in the atmosphere. The storm is also being weakened by dry air moving into it from the west. Dry air saps the ability for thunderstorms to form, and thunderstorms make up a tropical cyclone.

At 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC) on Dec. 27, Phanfone’s maximum sustained winds had dropped to 50 knots. It was located in the South China Sea, near latitude 15.0 degrees north and longitude 115.9 degrees east, approximately 461 nautical miles east of Da Nang, Vietnam.

Phanfone is moving across the South China Sea in a westerly direction and is continuing to weaken. The forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect the storm to dissipate by Dec. 29, just off the coast of Vietnam.

Tropical cyclones and 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.

By Rob Gutro 
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dec. 26, 2019  – NASA Satellite Tracks Tropical Storm Phanfone into the South China Sea

Tropical Storm Phanfone brought typhoon-force winds and heavy rains across sections of the Philippines on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Phanfone is known as Ursula in the Philippines. Now the storm has moved into the South China Sea and NASA’s Terra satellite captured an image of the tropical cyclone.

Phanfone’s maximum sustained winds peaked near 95 knots on Dec. 25 at 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC) as it passed through the Philippine archipelago.

On Dec. 26, 2019, the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of Phanfone that showed the storm maintained its circular shape after crossing the Philippines. A rounded shape of a tropical cyclone indicates an organized storm. The MODIS image revealed bands of thunderstorms spiraled into the low-level center of circulation.

At 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC) on Dec. 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that Tropical Cyclone Phanfone was located near latitude 14.0 degrees north and longitude 117.4 degrees east, about 554 nautical miles east-southeast of Da Nang, Vietnam. Maximum sustained winds were 75 knots (86 mph/139 kph). Phanfone is moving to the northwest.

Phanfone is forecast to begin a weakening trend and move toward Hainan Island, China. After two days, the storm is expected to weaken to a tropical depression.

NASA’s Terra satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.

Tropical cyclones and 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.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dec. 24, 2019 – NASA Sees Typhoon Phanfone Landfall in the Philippines

Typhoon Phanfone, known locally in the Philippines as Ursula, was making landfall in the central part of the country when NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead on Dec. 24.

Suomi NPP’s VIIRS instrument provided a visible image of Phanfone that showed its center had made landfall in the eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is one of 5 instruments aboard Suomi NPP. VIIRS and other satellite imagery has shown an intermittent eye feature peeking out within a compact area of sustained deep central convection.

At 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC) on Dec. 24, there were many warning signals in effect for the country. Philippines tropical cyclone Signal #3 was in effect for Luzon (northern Philippines) that included Masbate including Ticao Island. In Visayas (central Philippines), the warning covered Northern Samar, eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte and extreme northern Cebu.

Signal #2 was in effect in Luzon for the southern part of Cebu, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Romblon, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias Island and Calamian and Cuyo Islands.

Also in the Visayas region, Signal #2 included the central part of northern Cebu, northern Antique, Capiz, Aklan, southern Leyte and northern Negros Occidental Mindanao and the Dinagat islands.

Signal #1 was also posted for parts of Luzon that included Bulacan, Bataan, Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, rest of Quezon, Laguna, Batangas, Camarines Norte & Sur, Catanduanes, and northern Palawan. In Visayas the signal covered the rest of Cebu, Bohol, Aklan, rest of Antique, rest of Iloilo, Guimaras, rest of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Signal #1 was also posted for Mindanao’s Surigao del Northe including Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands.

At 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC) Phanfone (Philippines designation Ursula) was located near latitude 11.1 degrees north and longitude 126.5 degrees east, about 384 nautical miles east-southeast of Manila, Philippines. Phanfone was moving to the west-northwest with maximum sustained winds 65 knots (75 mph/120 kph).

Phanfone is forecast to strengthen to 80 knots as it moves over the Sulu Sea, and strengthen further once it moves into the South China Sea.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Dec. 23, 2019 – NASA Analyzes Tropical Cyclone Phanfone’s Water Vapor Concentration

When NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean, water vapor data provided information about the intensity of Tropical Cyclone Phanfone. In the Philippines, the storm is known locally as Ursula.

Tropical Depression 30W formed early on Dec. 22 and strengthened into a tropical storm. By 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC), the storm was renamed Phanfone.

NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone on Dec. 22 at 0445 UTC (Dec. 21 at 11:45 p.m. EST) 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 were around the center of circulation.

MODIS data also 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.

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.

On Dec. 23 at 4 a.m. EST (0900 UTC), Tropical Storm Phanfone (Philippines designation Ursula) was located near latitude 9.8 degrees north and longitude 132.2 degrees east, about 717 nautical miles east-southeast of Manila, Philippines. Phanfone is moving to the west-northwest and had maximum sustained winds near 40 knots (46 mph/74 kph).

On Dec. 23 at 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC), the GMI or Microwave Imager sensor aboard NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite, showed an eye was developing in Phanfone’s center.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Phanfone will move west-northwest toward and through the central Philippine archipelago and the Visayas and Mindanao regions on Dec. 24 and 25.

NASA’s Aqua satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.

Typhoons and hurricanes are the most powerful weather event 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.

By Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center