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Tropical Storm Cindy

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, with hourly surface//ship/buoy reports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, with hourly surface//ship/buoy reports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

** GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing testing **

As Tropical  Storm Bret was forming off the coast of South America, Potential Tropical Cyclone 3 (PTC3) was becoming more organized as it moved from the western Caribbean Sea across the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and into the Gulf of Mexico on 19 June 2017 (MIMIC TPW). On 20 June, one of the GOES-16 Mesoscale Sectors was positioned  over PTC3 and  provided 1-minute imagery — Visible  (0.64 µm)  and  Infrared Window (10.3  µm) images (above) showed deep convective bursts moving northward to reveal an exposed Low Level Circulation Center (LLCC).

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, with hourly surface/buoy/ship reports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, with hourly surface/buoy/ship reports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

Early in the day on 21 June, 1-minute GOES-16 Visible and Infrared Window images (above) showed multiple LLCC features associated with PTC3, with deep convection remaining well to the north/northwest. In addition, Mid-level Water Vapor (6.9  µm) images (below) indicated that a large amount of dry air had wrapped into the southern and eastern portions of the storm circulation.

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Water Vapor (6..9 µm, right) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm, left) and Water Vapor (6..9 µm, right) images [click to play MP4 animation]

However, by mid-day a more consolidated central circulation had developed, as seen on Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images (below) — and PTC3 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Cindy.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images, with surface pressure plotted in yellow and station identifiers plotted in cyan [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images, with surface pressure plotted in yellow and station identifiers plotted in cyan [click to enlarge]

Hourly images of the MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product covering the 19-24 June period (below) showed  the northward transport of rich tropical moisture into the Gulf  Coast states, which then moved northeastward toward the Northeast US bringing heavy rainfall and flooding to many locations (WPC storm summary).

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water [click to play animation]

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water [click to play animation]

Maps of daily rainfall during the 21-24 June period (along with 7-day rainfall totals, departure from normal and percent of normal) are shown below.

21-24 June daily precipitation, along with 7-day Precipitation Total, 7-day Departure from Normal and 7-day Percent of Normal [click to enlarge]

21-24 June daily precipitation, along with 7-day Precipitation Total, 7-day Departure from Normal and 7-day Percent of Normal [click to enlarge]

Categories: GOES-16, Heavy rain / flooding, Suomi NPP, Tropical cyclones, VIIRS