JMA Himawari-8 Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) revealed the presence of mesovortices within the large and well-defined eye of Category 5 Severe Cyclone Winston as the storm approached the largest Fiji islands of Vanua Levu and Viti Levu during the 19-20 February 2016 period.A longer animation of Himawari-8 Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images... Read More
When strong storms appear in Forecast Models, it is tempting to trace back in the atmosphere where the system originates. The water vapor animation above, from GOES-13, ends with the future East Coast Storm developing over the lower Mississippi River Valley (where it produced severe weather). The rocking animation, below, shows... Read More
Tropical Storm Pali has formed in the central Pacific, in a region east-southeast of Kwajalein Atoll (which atoll is at 9 N, 168 E), just west of warm Sea Surface Temperature anomalies (Source) associated with the ongoing El Nino. For the Central Pacific basin, Pali set new records for being the earliest-forming tropical cyclone on record... Read More
The 2015 December solstice — Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and Summer in the Southern Hemisphere — occurred at 0448 UTC on 22nd day of the month. Several hours prior to the solstice, the daylight/darkness “terminator” (tilted at 23.5º due to the inclination of the Earth’s axis) could be seen... Read More
