IMAGE: On Dec. 18 the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Kenanga moving through the Southern Indian Ocean. Credit: Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS)
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Tropical Cyclone Kenanga was at hurricane-force when NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite grabbed a visible image of the storm in the Southern Indian Ocean on Dec. 18.
On Dec. 18, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured visible image of Tropical Cyclone Kenanga in the Southern Indian Ocean. The image showed the eye was covered by high clouds and was surrounded by bands of powerful thunderstorms. The image appeared like a backwards comma, with a large, thick band of thunderstorms extending from the southern quadrant to the east.
The VIIRS image was created at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, using NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview. The Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks “right now.”
At 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC) the eye of Tropical Cyclone Kenanga was located near latitude 14.8 degrees south and longitude 83.7 degrees east. That’s about 805 miles southeast of Diego Garcia. Kenanga was moving southwest. Maximum sustained winds were near 90 knots (103.6 mph/166.7 kph) and Kenanga is expected to strengthen slightly before embarking on a weakening trend on Dec. 20.
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