Late-season Tropical Storm Otto in the southwest Caribbean Sea

By Scott Lindstrom • 21 November 2016

Metop-A Scatterometer winds at 1430 UTC and GOES-13 10.7 µm Brightness Temperature (Click to enlarge)

A late-season tropical depression has formed in the southwestern Caribbean Sea. The morning Metop-A pass on 21 November 2016 allowed ASCAT scatterometer winds to be sampled over the system: rain-flagged values near tropical storm force were present as shown above. A similar image (from this site) is available here, and also here (from this site).

GOES-13 Infrared (10.7 µm) Brightness Temperatures (Click to animate)

Infrared (10.7 µm) imagery from GOES-13, above, from 1315 through 1715 UTC on 21 November, shows periodic deep convection over the Depression; the grey regions in the deepest convection over the system correspond to brightness temperatures colder than -75 C. The environment surrounding this system, shown below, is marginally favorable for strengthening; sea-surface temperatures are warm, although the oceanic heat content suggests the warmth does not extend through a deep column of water. Wind shear over the storm is modest (but far stronger north of the storm). (Imagery below is from this site). The system is forecast to become a tropical storm within the next 24 hours.

Sea-surface temperatures, Oceanic Heat Content and Wind Shear (Click to enlarge)

Update: Otto was named a tropical storm at 2100 UTC 21 November; GOES-13 Visible (0.63 µm) Imagery is shown below. Numerous tropical overshooting tops can be seen during the course of the day.

GOES-13 Visible (0.63 µm) Imagery on 21 November 2016 (Click to animate)

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water fields, below, show that Otto emerged from a region of persistent deep moisture over the southwestern Caribbean Sea that has been contracting as the storm formed. This region of moisture was focused along the intersection of a stalled and decaying Atlantic frontal zone and the Pacific monsoon trough (hourly animation).

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water fields at 2100 UTC on 17,18,19,20 and 21 November (Click to enlarge)

DMSP-16 Microwave (85 GHz) imagery, below, showed evidence of a closed eye associated with Otto at 2132 UTC.

DMSP-16 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image [click to enlarge]

Categories: DMSP, GOES-13, Metop, Satellite winds, Tropical cyclones