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Mesoscale vortex along the Texas coast

By Scott Bachmeier •

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

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

GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) revealed a mesoscale vortex near the Texas coast (in the general vicinity of Houston) on 05 June 2019. This could have been a Mesoscale Convective Vortex (MCV), but there is evidence to suggest that it was a remnant circulation of what was Tropical Invest 91L a few days earlier.

Using a 3-hourly 850 hPa Relative Vorticity product from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below), the northward migration of vorticity associated with Invest 91L could be followed from the Bay of Campeche on 02 June to the Texas coast on 05 June.

850 hPa Relative Vorticity product, from 00 UTC on 02 June to 00 UTC on 06 June 2019 [click to play animation]

850 hPa Relative Vorticity product, from 00 UTC on 02 June to 00 UTC on 06 June 2019 [click to play animation]

Categories: GOES-16, Satellite winds