Cyclone Donna in the South Pacific Ocean
Cyclone Donna (18P) formed in the South Pacific Ocean (northeast of Vanuatu) on 02 May 2017. Himawari-8 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images during the 03-06 May period (above) revealed the formation of multiple convective bursts, many exhibiting cloud-top IR brightness temperatures of -90º C and colder.On 07 May, Cyclone Donna rapidly intensified from a Category 2 to a Category 4 storm (SATCON | ADT) — and Himawari-8 Infrared Window images (below) showed the presence of a large eye for a few hours. Environmental factors favoring rapid intensification included warm sea surface temperatures and light vertical wind shear.
A comparison of GMI Microwave (85 GHz) and Himawari-8 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed that the actual diameter of the eye was much larger on microwave imagery around 1400 UTC on 07 May.