AWIPS images of the DMSP and POES AMSU rainfall rates along with the GOES-12 IR channel imagery (above) shows Hurricane Dean as a Category 4 storm in the western Caribbean during the morning on 20 August 2007. Satellite-based rainfall rates within the spiral bands of the hurricane were as high as... Read More

An animation of GOES-12 visible images from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (above) shows that the northern eyewall of Hurricane Dean (rated Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph) was affecting the southwestern portion of Jamaica on 19 August 2007. A visible image from NOAA-18 (below) gives a closer view, with some hints of mesovortex structure... Read More

Hurricanes are classified by the Saffir-Simpson scale, which scale ranges from 1 to 5; the strongest storms are cat Vs. Dean intensified into a strong cat IV storm overnight, with a well-developed eye and excellent upper level outflow at all levels. The 1745 UTC GOES-12 visible image from 18 August (above;... Read More

An animation of GOES-12 visible channel imagery from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (above) reveals an eye forming as Hurricane Dean reached Category 3 strength over the eastern Caribbean Sea on 17 August 2007. ... Read More