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Cyclone Damien makes landfall in Western Australia

By Scott Bachmeier •

Himawari-8

Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation | MP4]

2.5-minute rapid scan JMA Himawari-8 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed Cyclone Damien making landfall as a Category 2 storm in Western Australia on 08 February 2020. Well west of the storm center, winds gusted to 49 knots at Barrow Island (YBWX). The eye remained intact for several hours after Damien moved inland.

GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Microwave (85 GHz) imagery from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed the eye at 1710 UTC.

GCOM-W2 AMSR2 Microwave (85 GHz) image [click to enlarge]

GCOM-W2 AMSR2 Microwave (85 GHz) image [click to enlarge]

Just prior to landfall. cloud-top gravity waves were evident in VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP, as viewed using RealEarth (below).

VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to enlarge]

VIIRS Infrared Window (11.45 µm) images from NOAA-20 and Suomi NPP [click to enlarge]


Tropical Storm Damien was also seen in the first-light image from Russia’s Elecro-L3 satellite, a few hours before Damien reached Category 1 hurricane intensity.

Categories: GCOM-W1, Himawari-8, Microwave, NOAA-20, RealEarth, Suomi NPP, Tropical cyclones