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Hurricane Season 2008: Tropical Storm Marie (Eastern Pacific Ocean)
 
Oct. 07, 2008

Goodbye, Marie

Just like the number one country song by Kenny Rogers in 1979, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are saying "Goodbye, Marie." The once Tropical Storm Marie is now a remnant low pressure area in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, Florida noted late on Monday, October 6 that Marie had lost her deep convection during the afternoon hours. Convection is the key to developing showers and thunderstorms. It's rising warm air that carries moisture aloft and condenses into clouds. Without it, clouds and showers can't occur.

The NHC said that "Some intermittent flare-ups of thunderstorms may re-occur within the remnant circulation during the next day or so. However since the system lacks persistent and organized deep convection...it can no longer be considered a tropical cyclone. Advisories are being terminated at this time."

Marie's remnants are located in the open waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean Oct. 6. At 2100 Zulu Time (4:00 p.m. EDT) they were near 18.9 degrees north latitude and 123.7 degrees west longitude. Sustained winds were near 25 knots (28 mph) and fading as it was moving west near 3 knots (3 mph).

According to the NHC, the remnant low should weaken over the next couple of days as it remains in an area where the atmosphere is unfavorable for development.

Text credit: Rob Gutro (from NHC reports) NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


Oct. 06, 2008

A Depressed Marie Adrift in the Eastern Pacific

A fading Marie southwest of Baja, California. Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project
> Larger image Marie, once a tropical storm off Mexico's west coast has weakened to a tropical depression on Monday, October 6 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The National Hurricane Center reports "further weakening is likely due to the dry and stable atmospheric environment and Marie will probably be reduced to a remnant low in 24 hours...or less."

Tropical Depression Marie poses no threat to land, because she's out at sea in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. On Oct. 6 Marie was about 920 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. That's near 18.7 degrees north latitude and 123.4 degrees west longitude. Marie's sustained winds are down to 35 mph, with further weakening expected. She's drifting west near 2 mph. She's expected to move west-southwest then southwest and fizzle at sea. The estimated minimum central pressure was 1006 millibars.

This satellite image was captured on October 6 at 15:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT) from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-11). Tropical Depression Marie is the circular area of clouds near the center of this satellite image. The Baja California is visible to the far right of Marie.

GOES is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was created by NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Text credit: Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


Oct. 03, 2008

Eastern Pacific's Marie Edging Hurricane Status

Tropical Storm Marie is teetering on the edge of becoming a hurricane on October 3, as her winds were sustained near 70 mph at 11 a.m. EDT.

At that time, Marie was in the open waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 875 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. That's near 17.7 degrees north latitude and 122.2 degrees west longitude. Marie is crawling at 2 mph to the west and will continue that way over the weekend. Marie's estimated minimum central pressure is 990 millibars.

Aqua Satellite Sees Cold Cloud Temperatures

AIRS infrared image of Marie on Oct. 3, 2008
> Larger image
Credit: NASA JPL These visible and infrared images were created by data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. They were taken on Oct. 2 at 5:29 p.m. EDT (21:297 UTC).

The infrared image shows a huge temperature difference between the tops of the clouds in a tropical cyclone and the warm ocean waters that power it. The lowest temperatures (in purple) are associated with high, cold cloud tops that make up the top of the area of low pressure. Those temperatures are as cold as or colder than 220 degrees Kelvin or minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (F). The blue areas are around 240 degrees Kelvin, or minus 27F.

Marie is obvious in the image as the round swirl of clouds (in blue and purple) off the Mexican west coast. The blue streaks to the north, near the Oregon and northern California coasts are from clouds associated with a low pressure area headed to the coast.

The infrared signal of the AIRS instrument does not penetrate through clouds. Where there are no clouds the AIRS instrument reads the infrared signal from the ocean and land surfaces, revealing warmer temperatures in orange and red. The orange temperatures are 80F (300 degrees Kelvin) or greater (the darker they are, the warmer they are), and tropical cyclones need sea surface temperatures of 80F to strengthen and maintain their strength.

AIRS visible image of Marie on Oct. 3, 2008
> Larger image
Credit: NASA JPL The data from AIRS is also used to create an accurate 3-D map of atmospheric temperature, water vapor and clouds, all of which are helpful to forecasters.

AIRS Microwave Data Gives Hints of Eye Formation

The National Hurricane Center noted in its discussion on Oct. 3, "Both microwave and conventional imagery indicates that the cloud pattern has become better organized and in fact, an eye is trying to form." One of the other products that NASA's AIRS generates is a microwave image, and meteorologists at the hurricane center utilize that data.

Text credit: Rob Gutro (from NHC reports) NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center


Oct. 01, 2008

Eastern Pacific Now One Storm Ahead of Atlantic with Marie

Satellite image of Marie Credit: NOAA/NASA GOES Project
> Larger image It seems like the hurricane seasons of the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean have been having a "contest" to see which ocean basin has the most named storms. As of Sept. 30, that record was tied with both areas up to "L" names. Now, the eastern Pacific Ocean has pulled ahead with the formation of Tropical Storm Marie off the Mexican west coast.

Marie is the thirteenth tropical storm in the eastern Pacific. She formed at 5:00 a.m. EDT this morning, Oct. 1. By 11:00 a.m. EDT Marie was packing sustained winds near 50 mph and some strengthening is possible over the next 24 hours.

Marie's center at that time was about 575 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, near latitude 17.1 degrees north and longitude 116.3 degrees west. She was moving to the northwest near 9 mph and is expected to turn to the west-northwest over the next day. Marie's minimum central pressure was 1000 millibars.

This satellite image was captured on October 1 at 17:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-11). In the image, Tropical Storm Marie is in the lower center.

GOES is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was created by NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Text credit: Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
 
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