This website works best with a newer web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer is not supported by this website.

CIMSS Satellite Blog

MENU

Hurricane Harvey makes landfall

By Scott Bachmeier •

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

As Harvey moved across warm waters in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (SST | OHC), it continued to intensify (ADT | SATCON) to a Category 4 hurricane just before making landfall along the Texas coast around 03 UTC on 26 August 2017 (10 pm local time on 25 August). Overlapping 1-minute GOES-16 Mesoscale Sectors had been positioned over Harvey, providing images at 30-second intervals — “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images prior to sunset (below) showed the approach of the eye. A comparison of GOES-16 vs GOES-13 (GOES-East) Visible images is available here.

GOES-16 Visible (0.64 µm) images, with hourly surface ports plotted in yellow (Click to play MP4 animation)

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images, with hourly surface ports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

Hurricane Harvey had a large-diameter eye in GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images at landfall, which persisted — albeit becoming smaller with time — for several hours after it moved inland (below). A longer-term animation of 5-minute GOES-16 Infrared Window images (covering the period 23-27 August) is available here.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images, with hourly surface reports plotted in yellow [click to play MP4 animation]

A sequence of four Infrared Window images from Suomi NPP VIIRS and Terra/Aqua MODIS covering the period 0419-0851 UTC (below) showed the shrinking eye and erratic path of Harvey once it moved inland then turned eastward.

Terra/Aqua MODIS (11.0 µm) and Suomi NPP VIIRS (11.45 µm) Infrared Window images [click to enlarge]

Terra/Aqua MODIS (11.0 µm) and Suomi NPP VIIRS (11.45 µm) Infrared Window images [click to enlarge]

A recap of the torrential rainfall amounts and maximum wind gusts caused by Hurricane Harvey can be seen in the WPC Storm Summary. A map showing the final storm total rainfall from Harvey is available here. [January 2018 update: the NHC released its final report on Hurricane Harvey]

Categories: Aqua, GOES-13, GOES-16, MODIS, Suomi NPP, Terra, Tropical cyclones, VIIRS