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Cyclone Mocha reaches Category 5 intensity

By Scott Bachmeier •

JMA Himawari-9 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

JMA Himawari-9 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images of Cyclone Mocha in the Bay of Bengal on 13 May 2023 (above) displayed cold clouds surrounding an eye that gradually became more cloud-cleared — with isolated cloud-top infrared brightness temperature values of -90ºC and colder (yellow pixels embedded within dark purple regions). Mocha reached Category 4 intensity at 0000 UTC on 13 May, and Category 5 intensity (sustained winds of 140 knots)at 0000 UTC on 14 May (SATCON | JTWC advisory).

A sequence of DMSP and GMI Microwave (85 GHz) images from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) showed snapshots of an eyewall that became more well defined during the day.

DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image at 1156 UTC [click to enlarge]


GMI Microwave (85 GHz) image at 1226 UTC [click to enlarge] 


DMSP-18 SSMIS Microwave (85 GHz) image at 2149 UTC [click to enlarge]

The MIMIC-TC product (below) shows the 48-hour period of Mocha’s approach toward and landfall in Myanmar.

MIMIC-TC product, 12-14 May [click to play animated GIF]

Near the time that Mocha was classified at a Category 5 tropical cyclone, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image from the RADARSAT Constellation Mission 2 (RCM-2) satellite at 2355 UTC (source) is shown below — the peak SAR wind of 136.24 knots was found in the NW quadrant of Mocha.

RCM-2 SAR winds at 2355 UTC on 13 May [click to enlarge]

Several hours after reaching its peak intensity as a Category 5 storm, JMA Hmawari-9 Visible and Infrared images (below) showed Mocha making landfall along the coast of Myanmar just after 0800 UTC on 14 May, at Category 4 intensity.

JMA Hmawari-9 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm, right) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

Categories: DMSP, Himawari-9, Microwave, SAR, Satellite winds, Tropical cyclones