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The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery of Tropical Storm Tony on Oct. 24 at 12:17 p.m. EDT that showed the strongest thunderstorms (purple) east of the center of circulation but cloud top temperatures are warming. Those thunderstorms are reaching high into the troposphere where cloud top temperatures are as cold as -63 Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius). Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
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On Oct. 24, 2012 at 0445 UTC (12:45p.m. EDT) the MODIS instrument captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Tony and revealed the strongest band of thunderstorms east of the center. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
NASA Sees Warming Cloud Tops Indicating Tropical Storm Tony Weakening
In a tropical cyclone, strong uplift of air pushes the tops of thunderstorms high into the troposphere. When that strength wanes, the cloud tops drop and become less cold. That's because the higher you go in the troposphere, the colder it gets. NASA satellite infrared data has revealed that Tropical Storm Tony's cloud top temperatures are warming and the storm is weakening.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared imagery of Tropical Storm Tony on Oct. 24 at 12:17 p.m. EDT that showed the strongest thunderstorms east of the center of circulation, but cloud top temperatures are warming. Those thunderstorms are reaching high into the troposphere where cloud top temperatures are as cold as -63 Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius). The cloud pattern in Tony is also becoming less organized.
On Oct. 25, 2012 at 5 a.m. EDT Tropical Storm Tony had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph (75 kph). Tony was moving to the east-northeast near 23 mph (37 kph) and this general motion is expected to continue during the next couple of days. Tony's center is far from land, about 835 miles (1,345 km) southwest of the Azores Islands near 30.4 North latitude and 38.4 West longitude. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km) from the center.
According to the National Hurricane Center discussion of Tony, "the southwesterly winds have not substantially separated the surface circulation from the convective canopy, although a combination of the shear and cooler waters has weakened the deep convection."
The National Hurricane Center expects Tony to start losing tropical characteristics today and dissipate over the weekend of Oct. 27 and 28.
This animation of NOAA's GOES-13 satellite observations from Oct. 21-24, 2012, shows Tropical Storm Sandy become a hurricane just before making landfall in Jamaica and Tropical Storm Tony form and strengthen in the central Atlantic Ocean. Sandy became a hurricane on Oct. 24 at 11 a.m. EDT when its maximum sustained winds hit 80 mph (130 kph). At that time, it was centered about 65 miles (100 km) south of Kingston, Jamaica, near 17.1 North and 76.7 West. This visualization was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.(Credit: NASA GOES Project) › Download video
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NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Tony on Oct. 24 at 7:45 a.m. EDT that revealed that Tony is relatively small as it moves through the central Atlantic. Credit: NASA GOES Project
Satellite imagery indicated that Tropical Storm Tony is a small, compact storm, traveling through the central Atlantic Ocean.
On Oct 23, Tropical Depression 19 strengthened into Tropical Storm Tony in the central Atlantic Ocean. NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Tony on Oct. 24 at 7:45 a.m. EDT that revealed that Tony is relatively small as it moves through the central Atlantic. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center. Tony is just over 140 miles in diameter as seen on the GOES-13 image. The GOES-13 satellite image was created by NASA's GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Infrared satellite data from NASA's Aqua satellite shows that cloud top temperatures have cooled to -70 Celsius, indicating some very high, strong thunderstorms within.
At 5 a.m. EDT today, Oct. 24, Tony's maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph (75 kph). Some additional strengthening is expected today, followed by gradual weakening. The center of tropical storm Tony was located near about 1,415 miles (2,275 km) west-southwest of the Azores, near latitude 27.4 north and longitude 47.9 west. Tony is moving toward the east-northeast near 16 mph (26 kph) and the National Hurricane Center expects the storm to continue in that direction and speed up over the next two days.
Tony is also battling wind shear from the southwest and is headed into cooler waters. Both factors are expected to weaken Tony later in the week.
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Infrared satellite imagery on Oct. 22 at 12:23 p.m. EDT, from the AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite showed that the strongest thunderstorms in Tropical Depression 19 stretched from the northeast to the southeast of the center of the depression's circulation. Those thunderstorms are reaching high into the troposphere where cloud top temperatures are as cold (purple) as -63F. Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
NASA View of Atlantic's Tropical Depression 19 Shows Backwards "C" of Strong Storms
Infrared imagery from the AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite revealed that the strongest thunderstorms within the Atlantic Ocean's Tropical Depression 19 seem to form a backwards letter "C" stretching from northeast to southeast around the storm's center. That "C" is a band of thunderstorms around the eastern side of the storm.
Infrared satellite imagery taken on Oct. 22 at 12:23 p.m. EDT, from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument showed that the strongest thunderstorms in Tropical Depression 19 stretched from the northeast to the southeast of the center of the depression's circulation. Those thunderstorms are reaching high into the troposphere where cloud top temperatures are as cold (purple) as -63F. The AIRS image was created at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
On Oct. 23, infrared satellite imagery revealed the same story about Tropical Depression 19's (TD 19) structure. The National Hurricane Center noted "The structure of the depression consists of a small but persistent cluster of deep convection regenerating near the center of circulation and an outer band farther to the north and northeast."
On Oct 23 at 11 a.m. EDT, TD19's maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph (55 kph). Some strengthening is possible over the next couple of days, and the depression could become a tropical storm. The center was located near latitude 25.7 north and longitude 51.0 west, about 915 miles (1,470 km) northeast of the Leeward Islands. TD19 is moving to the north-northeast near 15 mph (24 kph) and is expected to move northeastward to east-northeastward on Oct. 24. TD19 formed in the central Atlantic yesterday, Oct. 22. If TD19 gets named, it would be dubbed "Tony."