Hurricane Julia makes landfall in Nicaragua

By Scott Bachmeier • 8 October 2022

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed that Hurricane Julia made landfall as a Category 1 intensity storm along the east coast of Nicaragua around 0715 UTC on 09 October 2022. A notable increase in the areal coverage of deep convection was seen around the center of Julia as it approached the coast, suggesting a trend of further intensification just prior to landfall.

Julia was upgraded from a Tropical Storm to a Hurricane at 2300 UTC on 08 October — an analysis of deep-layer wind shear at that time from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) indicated that Julia was moving through an environment of very low shear (which favored further intensification). The tropical cyclone was also traversing warm water with Sea Surface Temperature values around 29ºC.

GOES-16 Infrared Window (11.2 µm) images, with contours of deep-layer wind shear valid at 2300 UTC [click to enlarge]

A DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image at 2353 UTC (below) showed that a closed eyewall was beginning to develop, but still remained open to the west-southwest.