NASA satellite sees Tropical Cyclone Quang making landfall in Western Australia
This visible image of Tropical Cyclone Quang was taken from the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua on May 1 at 06:20 UTC making landfall near Learmonth, Australia. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard Aqua gathered data on Tropical Cyclone Quang on May 1 at 06:20 UTC (2:20 a.m. EDT).
The MODIS image showed that most of the thunderstorms associated with the cyclone were pushed southeast of the center from northwesterly wind shear, and that the other quadrants of the storm had very few thunderstorms.
The reason for a lack of thunderstorms and clouds north of the center is that dry air has wrapped around the northern quadrant. Multi-spectral imagery showed that the low level-circulation center had elongated.
On April 30 the International Space Station's RapidScat instrument measured Quang's sustained surface winds and observed the storm's strongest winds were in the southeastern quadrant. RapidScat measured winds from 21:38 UTC to 23:11 UTC (5:38 a.m. to 7:11 p.m. EDT).
Strongest winds were seen in the southern quadrant of the storm where a band of thunderstorms was wrapping into the center. Those winds reached speeds of 35 meters per second (78.9 mph/126 kph).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that the strongest winds were occurring over the southeastern quadrant on May 1 at 0600 UTC (2:00 a.m. EDT) just before the MODIS image was taken. Maximum sustained winds were near 70 knots (80.5 mph/129.6 kph).
The center of Quang was located near 21.7 south latitude and 114.0 east longitude, about 36 nautical miles north of Learmonth. It was moving to the southeast at 16 knots (18.4 mph/29.6 kph).
The JTWC forecast calls for Quang to continue weakening as vertical wind shear continues to increase. In addition, as the system tracks over land, the interaction with the topography will also add to the weakening. Quang is not expected to survive more than a day before dissipating.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.
Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.
Newest articles
High-energy-density aqueous battery based on halogen multi-electron transfer
Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for…
First-ever combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant
…gives new hope to patient with terminal illness. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed the first-ever combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery in a 54-year-old woman…
Biophysics: Testing how well biomarkers work
LMU researchers have developed a method to determine how reliably target proteins can be labeled using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopy techniques make it possible to examine the inner workings…
