2022 Hurricane Season

Related pages

• Related

  • 
    ID: 5050 Visualization

    Nicole Brings Heavy Rain to Florida and part of the Southeast

    Nov. 11th, 2022
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    Tropical Storm Nicole at approxiately 16:30Z on November 10, 2022. Earlier that same day, Nicole made landfall on the eastern Florida coast as a category 1 hurricane. || Hurricane Nicole hit the East Coast of Florida early morning, November 10th, 2022, at 3:00 am (EST) just south of Vero Beach at North Hutchinson Island. But, unlike Hurricane Ian which came ashore in late September as a powerful Category 4 storm that devasted parts of southwest Florida, Nicole made landfall as a minimal Category 1 storm. Though far less intense, Nicole still brought some heavy rain and gusty winds to the region.Nicole originated from a non-tropical low pressure system over the southwestern Atlantic. As a result, when the National Hurricane Center (NHC) was first able to identify a rather well-defined center at 4:00 am EST on the morning of the 7th, the low-level circulation was fairly broad with the strongest winds well away from the center, so the system was named Subtropical Storm Nicole. At this time, the center was located about 555 miles due east of the northwestern Bahamas with initial movement was towards the northwest. Nicole maintained its subtropical storm structure throughout the 7th, but by the morning of the 8th, deep convective storms had emerged near the center, suggesting that Nicole was poised to intensify and had transitioned from subtropical to tropical. As a result, Nicole was renamed as a tropical storm by NHC at 10:00 am EST on the 8th. The system also took on a westward track as a deep layer ridge of high pressure north of Nicole shunted the system back towards Florida. Nicole slowly but steadily intensified throughout the day with maximum sustained winds increasing to 70 mph, nearly hurricane strength; however, further intensification ceased as NHC reported that evening that dry air was likely inhibiting thunderstorm development near the center.The combination of NASA’s IMERG precipitation product and the GPM Core Observatory satellite with its array of active and passive sensors is ideal for monitoring and studying tropical cyclones, including hurricanes. The following animation shows Nicole as it passes through the Bahamas and into central Florida. The first part of the animation shows a time loop of IMERG surface rainfall estimates beginning at 16:11 UTC (11:11 am EST) on November 9, 2022 when Nicole was nearing Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. At the start, IMERG shows that Nicole’s precipitation field is attached to the southwestern end of a long quasi-linear band of precipitation associated with a midlatitude frontal system extending well out into the central and northern Atlantic. IMERG also shows that most of the precipitation, including the moderate and heavy rain (shown in orange and red, respectively), associated with Nicole is fairly well north and west of the center. However, enough convective storms had formed near the center as evidenced by areas of moderate to occasionally heavy areas of rain wrapping nearer to the center around the southeast side of the storm, that Nicole was able to reach hurricane strength at 6:00 pm EST (23:00 UTC) while making landfall on Grand Bahama Island. IMERG shows Nicole continuing on to make landfall on Florida’s east coast on the morning of the 10th and continuing on across the peninsula. By the end of the loop at 16:21 UTC (11:21 am EST) on the 10th, after the center had crossed most of central Florida, heavier rain bands are located over western and northern Florida and southeastern Georgia.It was around this time that the GPM Core Observatory flew over the center of Nicole. The second part of the animation shows a detailed look into the structure and intensity of the precipitation within Nicole from the GPM Core Observatory around 16:30 UTC (11:30 am EST) on the 10th of November. Surface rainfall estimates from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) show Nicole is very asymmetric with a heavy rainband (shown in red) out over the northeast Gulf of Mexico west of the center extending northward up across the central Florida panhandle, back across southeast Georgia, and into coastal South Carolina with very little rain evident south and east of the center over the southern half of the Florida peninsula. GPM’s Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) actively scanned the storm to provide a 3D perspective of its precipitation. Areas shaded in blue show frozen precipitation aloft, mainly in the form of snow but also graupel (rimed snow particles) and frozen drops, which are both present in the cores of active thunderstorms. The DPR shows that the taller, deeper thunderstorms within Nicole are associated with the heavier rain located well north and west of the center. In fact, thunderstorm activity near the actual center (located in the middle of the DPR cross section midway between the two areas of deeper storms) is very modest with no tall towers and no heavy rain. The most dominant rainband being located well away from the center shows that Nicole has retained some of its earlier subtropical storm structure. At the time of the GPM overpass, Nicole was around 35 miles NNE of Tampa moving to the WNW with maximum sustained winds reported at 50 mph by NHC. Nicole then continued onward along the coast of the Florida Big Bend and into northern Georgia while further weakening. So far, the storm is being blamed for 6 deaths in the Dominican Republic and 4 in Florida. ||

    Read more
  • 
    ID: 5037 Visualization

    Hurricane Ian Forms South of Cuba

    Sept. 28th, 2022
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    Hurricane Ian off the Cuban Coast on September 26, 2022 at 20:29Z. || Hurricane Ian became one of the strongest hurricanes on record to strike Florida when it made landfall September 28th, 2022, around 3:10 pm (EDT) as a Category 4 storm near Cayo Costa about 20 miles west-southwest of Punta Gorda on Florida’s southwest coast. This same area was hard hit by Hurricane Charley back in 2004, which also made landfall as a strong Category 4 storm. Both storms passed over and responded to the deep, warm waters of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.Ian originated from a tropical easterly wave that propagated westward off the coast of Africa across the tropical Atlantic and entered the eastern Caribbean on the evening of the 21st of September. Two days later, on the morning of the 23rd, this wave had organized enough to become a tropical depression before strengthening into Tropical Storm Ian later that same evening. With its array of active and passive sensors, the GPM Core Observatory satellite is ideal for monitoring and studying tropical cyclones, including hurricanes. The following animation follows Ian as moves out of the central and into the northwestern Caribbean in the direction of western Cuba. The first part of the animation shows a time loop of surface rainfall estimates beginning at 18:57 UTC (2:57 pm EDT) on 25 September from NASA’s IMERG precipitation product. These surface rainfall estimates are useful for showing not only the track but also the time evolution of tropical cyclones. At the start of the loop, IMERG shows some banding with generally weak curvature and a mixture of light to moderate to heavy rain rates scattered across Ian’s circulation. By the end of the IMERG loop at 19:34 UTC (3:34 pm EDT) on the 26th, much more distinct rainbands exhibiting strong curvature and containing coherent areas of heavy rain (red areas) wrap completely around the storm’s center, indicative of a much larger and stronger cyclonic circulation. At the start of IMERG loop, Ian was a moderate tropical storm with maximum sustained winds reported at 50 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). By the end of the loop, Ian was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds reported at 85 mph and on its way to becoming a Category 2 hurricane just a short time later.The second part of the animation shows a detailed look into the structure and intensity of the precipitation within Ian from the GPM Core Observatory after it flew over the center of Ian around 19:22 UTC (3:22 pm EDT) on the 26th when the storm was just south of Cuba. Surface rainfall estimates from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) show heavy rainbands (in red) wrapping completely around the storm with intense rain rates (shown in magenta) wrapping around the western side of the center. GPM’s Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) actively scanned the storm to provide a 3D perspective of its precipitation. Areas shaded in blue show frozen precipitation aloft, mainly in the form of snow but also graupel (rimed snow particles) and frozen drops, which are both present in the cores of active thunderstorms. The structure and height of these particles can suggest future trends in the storm’s intensity. The DPR shows deep towers that are producing intense rain within the western and southern parts eyewall. These features suggest strong thunderstorms are actively releasing heat into Ian’s core circulation and priming the storm for possible further intensification. At the time of the GPM overpass, Ian moving was to the north-northwest around the western edge of a midlevel ridge in the direction of Cuba with maximum sustained winds reported at 85 mph by NHC. However, less than 2 hours later at 2100 UTC (5:00 pm EDT) Ian’s sustained winds were up to 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane. Ian continued to strengthen and made landfall early the next morning at 4:30 am (EDT) on the 27th as a Category 3 storm with sustained winds reported at 125 mph by NHC near the town of La Coloma in western Cuba. Ian weakened slightly after crossing over Cuba before re-intensifying over the southeast Gulf of Mexico and striking southwest Florida. ||

    Read more
  • 
    ID: 5035 Visualization

    Fiona Becomes a Major Hurricane in the Atlantic

    Sept. 25th, 2022
    (updated Aug. 25th, 2023)

    Hurricane Fiona west of Bermuda on September 23, 2022 at 6:06 UTC. || After leaving the Caribbean, Hurricane Fiona became both the strongest and the first major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season as it made its way northward through the western Atlantic. Fiona began as an African easterly wave that moved across the tropical Atlantic in the direction of the Caribbean. While still about 800 miles east of the Leeward Isles, this wave organized into a tropical depression on September 14th. Later that same day, the depression strengthened and became Tropical Storm Fiona. Fiona remained a moderate tropical storm as it passed through the Leeward Isles on the evening of the 16th near Guadeloupe with maximum sustained winds reported at 50 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). After entering the northeastern Caribbean, Fiona took a west-northwest track in the direction of Puerto Rico and began to slowly intensify, becoming a Category 1 hurricane at 11 am (AST) on the 18th just before making landfall at 3:20 pm (AST) near Punta Tocon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 85 mph. After passing over the southwest tip of Puerto Rico, Fiona emerged over the Mona Passage before making landfall in the Dominican Republic early the next morning at 3:30 am AST on the 19th near Boca de Yuma with sustained winds of 90 mph.After passing over northeast Hispaniola, Fiona took a northwest track as it re-emerged into the Atlantic around midday on the 19th in the direction of the Turks and Caicos Islands. As it moved away from Hispaniola, Fiona was able to overcome some moderate southwesterly wind shear and began to intensify over warm waters, becoming a Category 2 storm later that afternoon. Early on the morning of the 20th at 2am (AST) , Fiona became a major Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds reported at 115 mph as it born down on Grand Turk Island. After passing near Grand Turk Island, Fiona intensified further becoming a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 130 mph early on the morning of the 21st as it headed due north about 755 miles southwest of Bermuda. Fiona maintained its intensity throughout the day on the 21st as it continued northward over the open western Atlantic well east of the US East Coast. Fiona continued to maintain its intensity on the 22nd as it accelerated northward ahead of a deep upper-level trough of low pressure over the northeastern US, passing west and northwest of Bermuda.Around this time, at about 05:30 UTC (1:30 AST) on the morning of the 23rd, the GPM Core Observatory satellite passed over the center of Fiona when the center was located about 185 miles due west of Bermuda. Corresponding images of surface rain rates estimated from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) (inner swath) show a large, intense outer rainband wrapping nearly completely around the storm well away from the center. This is generally separated by an area of weak rain with another area of more intense rain located closer to the center wrapping around the southern, eastern and western parts of the storm. This type of structure is generally characteristic of a large, intense storm that has passed its peak intensity. Over time, hurricane wind fields tend to expand away from the center. Echo top heights derived from the GPM DPR provide a 3D perspective of the precipitation within Fiona. The brighter red areas show that thunderstorms are still active in the southern and eastern portions of the eyewall and helping to maintain its intensity, which was still reported at 130 mph by NHC. However, soon after these images were taken, Fiona began to weaken due to the effects of increasing vertical wind shear. Fiona is forecast to continue to weaken and transition to a post tropical storm but remain near hurricane intensity as closes in on the Canadian Maritimes. ||

    Read more