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Cyclone Batsirai reaches Category 4 intensity

By Scott Bachmeier •

EWS-G1 Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

US Space Force EWS-G1 (formerly GOES-13) Infrared Window (10.7 µm) images (above) showed Cyclone Batsirai in the South Indian Ocean — just north of the island nations of Mauritius and Réunion — during the time period it was classified as a Category 4 intensity storm (00 UTC on 02 February to 15 UTC on 03 February 2022). Note that the small-diameter eye became notably larger by the end of the animation.

A DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) displayed evidence that Batsirai had recently completed an eyewall replacement cycle (ERC), with the faint signature of the original small-diameter eye surrounded by the new large-diameter eye. This ERC process — seen in a 48-hour MIMIC-TC animation — initiated Batsirai’s gradual  decline in intensity.

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image [click to enlarge]

EWS-G1 Visible (0.63 µm) images (below) showed that the small eye was initially cloud-filled, but eventually cleared during the day on 02 February — to reveal the possible existence of eye mesovortices (although such features are difficult to diagnose using 30-minute images) .

EWS-G1 Visible (0.63 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Categories: DMSP, EWS-G1, Microwave, Tropical cyclones