MIMIC Total Preciptable Water (TPW) Fields (from this site), below, for the 24 hours ending 1300 UTC on 26 December 2023, show the Samoan Islands (at 13-14oS, ~172oW) in the middle of the South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) that stretches east-southeastward across the South Pacific. Pago Pago has received more than 20″... Read More
As discussed in this blog post, heavy rainfall had been occurring across the Samoan Islands on 14 December 2023. The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) remained in the vicinity of the Samoan Islands on 16 December (surface analyses) — and 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Infrared images (above) showed another round of deep convection that produced heavy... Read More
Target Sector (2.5-minute interval) JMA Himawari-9 AHI Red Visible (0.64 µm) and Clean Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the brief development of a ragged eye with Cyclone Jasper as the storm approached the coast of Far North Queensland, Australia — prior to it making landfall north of Cairns around 1200 UTC on 13... Read More
Target Sector (2.5-minute interval) JMA Himawari-9 AHI Clean Infrared Window (10.4 µm) images (above) showed the gradual development of a ragged eye with Cyclone Jasper as the storm moved southward across the Coral Sea on 07 December 2023. Intermittent convective bursts within the eyewall contained a few overshooting tops that exhibited infrared brightness temperatures around -90ºC (yellow... Read More
