Late in the day on 06 July 2021, Tropical Storm Elsa regained hurricane intensity as of 0000 UTC, just off the west coast of Florida. 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed the tropical cyclone during the 1500 UTC to 0000 UTC time period. In the morning, cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures of -80ºC or colder were seen (violet pixels), but during most of the day they were in the -70 to -79ºC range. While Elsa had been moving over water with Sea Surface Temperature values around 28ºC, the Ocean Heat Content of those waters was relatively low.

For a few hours the low-level circulation of Elsa remained exposed from its deep convection to the northeast — and GOES-16 Visible images with an overlay of deep-layer shear at 1800 UTC, from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below), showed that this was due to westerly shear values around 25-30 knots over the area.

The center of Elsa moved just to the east of Buoy 42023 — a plot of wind speed/gust and pressure is shown below.

A DMSP-15 Microwave (85 GHz) Microwave image at 2155 UTC (below) indicated that Elsa had nearly completed the formation  of a closed eyewall at that time.

GOES-16 Infrared  / Water Vapor Difference images (below) revealed pockets of stronger overshooting tops near the center of deep convection during the hours leading up to Elsa reaching hurricane intensity.

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After once again weakening to Tropical Storm intensity at 0600 UTC, Elsa eventually made landfall along the coast of Florida around 1500 UTC on 07 July, as seen in 1-minute GOES-16 Visible and Infrared images (above) — inland impacts included an EF0 tornado, wind gusts to 71 mph and rainfall exceeding 11 inches (NWS Public Information Statements).

At 1223 UTC, a DMSP-17 SSMIS Microwave image (below) indicated that a closed eyewall was not present with Elsa at that time.

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AOML (The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory) maintains a Direct Broadcast antenna site that holds satellite imagery (created using CSPP — the Community Satellite Processing Package) created when a tropical system — such as Elsa — is within the download footprint of the AOML antenna.  This imagery — particularly in the microwave — is useful to describe the system’s structure. The Day Night Band image above, from Suomi NPP at 0636 UTC, shows a non-symmetric storm with the bulk of clouds to the east and south of the surface center (at that time near 23.9 N, 82.3 W, i.e., in the Florida Straits to the south of Dry Tortuga).  Rainfall, as diagnosed using MIRS algorithms and microwave ATMS (Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) data from NPP, below, shows the asymmetry of the storm as well:  almost all the diagnosed rain is east of the center. (It’s helpful that both infrared imagers and microwave sounders are on the same satellite!)

The GCOM-W1 (supported by JAXA) satellite also scanned Elsa shortly before 0700 UTC on 6 July.  Microwave observations at ~36 GHz, below, and at 89 GHz, farther below, can help to characterize the structure of the storm. Indeed, observations at/around 85-89 GHz are used in the MIMIC TC product as described here.

In addition to the AOML site, the CIMSS Direct Broadcast site contains Polar Orbiting imagery in near-real time. The afternoon 88.2 GHz image from (NOAA-20) ATMS is shown below.  Cold cloud tops associated with strong scattering by ice of the 88.2 GHz signal are apparent.

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There are a multitude of polar orbiters such that observations show up in clusters of time.  However, for a better time animation, it’s still best to rely on GOES-16!  The animation below, from CSPP Geosphere, shows a sheared storm south and west of Ft Myers FL.  Indeed, an 1800 UTC 6 July 2021 shear analysis from the CIMSS Tropical website (here, from this site), shows westerly shear of 25-30 knots.

GOES-16 True-Color imagery, 6 July 2021 from 1730 to 1920 UTC (Click to animate)

For the latest information on Elsa, consult the webpages of the National Hurricane Center, or the SSEC/CIMSS Tropical Weather Page.

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GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction at 1751 UTC, above, shows two cumulus fields over Wisconsin:    a linear cloud field oriented west-southwest-to-east-northeast over the southern part of the state, and a larger field of agitated cumulus over the northern half of the state, with isolated glaciated storms near the border of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  Would you expect those cumulus fields to develop during the course of afternoon heating?  SPC had much of Wisconsin in a Marginal Risk of severe weather at 2000 UTC on 5 July (link; 1630 and 1300 UTC outlooks were the same), as shown below.

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A benefit of NUCAPS (NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System) profiles (click here for previous blog posts discussing NUCAPS) from NOAA-20 over the contiguous United States (CONUS) is timing: profiles occur between 1600 UTC on the east coast and 2100 UTC on the west coast and thereby sample the atmosphere before the development of diurnal convection. Such was the case over Wisconsin on 5 July 2021. The image above shows the GOES-16 Day Cloud Phase Distinction and the Sounding Availability points from NUCAPS (NOAA-20) at 1849 UTC. The NUCAPS profiles allow a forecaster an independent (independent of models such as NAM or HRRR; see for example, this screen-capture of a 6-h forecast of radar reflectivity from the 1800 UTC/5 July HRRR of convection showing some development over southern WI) estimate of atmospheric stability. How does this diagnosed stability agree with (or not) model forecasts?

700-900 mb NUCAPS relative humidity fields, below, show a drier atmosphere of over southern Wisconsin than over the northern half of the state. (NWS ITOs note: there are instructions in VLab to modify NUCAPS gridding so that the pieces shown in AWIPS are more contiguous than in this blogpost example!).  Lapse rates (also 700-900 mb), below, show weaker stability over northern Wisconsin.  The combination of weaker stability and more moisture might push a forecaster to diminish convective concerns over parts of southern Wisconsin, and maintain those concerns over the northern half of the state. (GOES-16 Total Precipitable Water fields at 1851 UTC — link — show two axes of moisture over Wisconsin: one with the southern area of cumulus development, and one over central Wisconsin)

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Convection did not occur with the southern line of cumulus. See the animation below.

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Elsa was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane at 1230 UTC on 02 July 2021 — and 1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 µm) images (above) showed the tropical cyclone during and after the time period that it began to spread hurricane-force winds across the islands of Barbados and St. Lucia. Pulsing overshooting tops exhibited infrared brightness temperatures in the -80 to -87ºC range (shades of purple).

GOES-16 Infrared images with an overlay of deep-layer wind shear from the CIMSS Tropical Cyclones site (below) indicated that Elsa was moving through an environment of low shear.

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