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Hurricane Florence continues to approach the southeastern US

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

Hurricane Florence maintained Category 4 intensity on the morning of 11 September 2018 — and 1-minute (initially 30-second, until 1345 UTC) Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (below) showed improving eye structure after the tropical cyclone completed an eyewall replacement cycle during the preceding nighttime hours (MIMIC TC). A distinct pattern of transverse banding was also evident within the northern semicircle of Florence on Infrared imagery.

GOES-16

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

DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) imagery from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed a large eye at 1015 UTC, and also at 1103 UTC.

DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) and GOES-16

DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) and GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images at 1015 UTC [click to enlarge]

GOES-16 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm) images with Derived Motion Winds (below) revealed that a well-defined high altitude outflow channel had developed northwest of Florence, helping the storm to maintain its intensity.

GOES-16 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm) images, with Derived Motion Winds [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16 Upper-level Water Vapor (6.2 µm) images, with Derived Motion Winds [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute GOES-16 True Color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images (courtesy of Kathy Strabala, CIMSS; details) are shown below. A larger-scale RGB animation beginning at sunrise is available here (courtesy of Rick Kohrs, SSEC).

GOES-16 natural color RGB images [click to play MP4 animation]

1-minute GOES-16 True Color RGB images, 1330-1440 UTC [click to play MP4 animation]

Taking a closer look at the center of Florence later in the day, 1-minute GOES-16 data (below) showed mesovortices within the eye on Visible imagery, along with a narrow radial band of colder (darker red) cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures about 30-50 miles from the inner edge of the eyewall.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Viisible (0.64 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16

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

===== 12 September Update =====

Florence remained at Category 4 intensity early in the day as it continued its northwestward motion toward the southeast coast of the US on 12 September. A 20-hour period of 1-minute GOES-16 Infrared images (from 0000-2015 UTC) is shown below.

1-minute GOES-16

1-minute GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images, from 0000-2015 UTC [click to play MP4 animation]

Nighttime toggles between VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from Suomi NPP and NOAA-20 are shown below (courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS). Bright lightning-illuminated cloud areas can be seen on the DNB images distant to the north and northwest of the storm center; with minimal illumination from the Moon (which was in the Waxing Crescent phase, at only 10% of Full), Florence was illuminated primarily via airglow. On the Infrared images, a coarse pattern of transverse banding was evident along the far southern and western periphery of the storm.

Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band and Infrared Window images [click to enlarge]

Suomi NPP VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band and Infrared Window images [click to enlarge]

NOOA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) and Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images [click to enlarge]

A sequence of Terra/Aqua MODIS and Suomi NPP VIIRS Infrared images (below) showed dramatic changes in the cold central dense overcast (CDO) of Florence between 02 and 18 UTC.

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

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

During the morning hours, 1-minute GOES-16 Visible and Infrared images (below) once again displayed a distinct eye and eyewall structure, with surface mesovortices evident within the eye. A curious linear standing wave — extending radially outward to the northeast of the storm center — developed from about 13-15 UTC (best seen on Infrared images).

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16

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

ASCAT surface scatterometer winds from Metop-A (below) were as strong as 76 knots just northeast of the eye at 1450 UTC.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) image with Metop-A ASCAT surface scatterometer winds [click to enlarge]

A stereoscopic animation using GOES-16 and GOES-17 imagery is shown below — to view in three dimensions, cross your eyes until 3 equal images are apparent, then focus on the image in the center. *Note: GOES-17 images shown here are preliminary and non-operational*

Stereoscopic animation using GOES-16 and GOES-17

Stereoscopic animation using GOES-16 and GOES-17 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) imagery [click to play animation]

During the afternoon hours, GOES-16 Visible and Infrared images (below) showed that the eye presentation  was beginning to deteriorate as Florence weakened to Category 3 intensity by 21 UTC.

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Clean” Infrared Window {10.3 µm) images [click to play MP4 animation]

The MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product (below) indicated that high TPW values associated with Florence began to move inland along the US East Coast by the end of the day.

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product [click to enlarge]

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water product [click to enlarge]

Categories: Aqua, DMSP, GOES-16, GOES-17, Metop, Microwave, MODIS, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Satellite winds, Suomi NPP, Terra, Tropical cyclones, VIIRS