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Cyclone Gita in the South Pacific Ocean

By Scott Bachmeier •

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm, bottom) images, with hourly plots of surface reports [click to play Animated GIF | MP4 also available]

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed Cyclone Gita as it moved toward Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean during 11 February – 12 February 2018. The tropical cyclone reached Category 4 intensity (ADT | SATCON) near the end of the animation period.

A longer animation of Himawari-8 Infrared images (below) revealed that the center of Gita moved just south of the main island of Tongatapu. Surface observations from Fua’Amotu (NFTF) ended after 0735 UTC.

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images, with hourly surface plots [click to play Animated GIF | MP4 also available]

MIMIC-TC morphed microwave imagery (below) showed that Gita underwent an eyewall replacement cycle after moving to the southwest of Tongatapu — a small eyewall was replaced by a larger eyewall, which was very apparent in DMSP SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) images at 1533 and 1749 UTC.

MIMIC-TC morphed microwave imagery

MIMIC-TC morphed microwave imagery

Metop ASCAT scatterometer surface winds (below) showed Gita around the time that the storm center was just south of Tongatapu at 0850 UTC.

Metop ASCAT scatterometer surface winds [click to enlarge]

Metop ASCAT scatterometer surface winds [click to enlarge]

Categories: DMSP, Himawari-8, Metop, Satellite winds, Tropical cyclones