NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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March 7, 2008

Tropical Cyclone Ophelia Fizzles off the Australian Coast

Credit: NASA/JPL
> Larger image On March 7, Tropical Cyclone Ophelia was fading fast off the northwest coast of Australia.

The final warning on Ophelia was issued on March 6 at 21:00 Zulu time, or 4:00 p.m. ET, when she was 310 miles southwest of Learmonth, Australia. Her maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (42 mph), and she was moving south-southeast near 7 knots (8 mph). She was dissipating at this time.

This satellite image was created on March 6 at 17:35 UTC (12:35 p.m. ET) by data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite.

This AIRS image shows the temperature of the cloud tops or the surface of the Earth in cloud-free regions. The lowest temperatures (in purple and blue) are associated with high, cold cloud tops that make up the top of Ophelia.

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 surface of the Earth, revealing warmer temperatures (red).

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

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March 5, 2008

Indian Ocean's Tropical Cyclone Ophelia Still Around

Credit: NASA/JPL
> Larger image Tropical Cyclone Ophelia, also know as Cyclone 21S, was still packing maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (52 mph) in the southern Indian Ocean on Wednesday, March 5, 2008.

Ophelia isn't threatening any landmasses as the storm is in open ocean, about 260 miles northwest of Learmonth, Australia, near 19.7 degrees south latitude and 110.3 degrees east longitude. It was moving southwest near 10 knots (11 mph).

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that Tropical Cyclone Ophelia continues to move southwest, while weakening. The forecast calls for Ophelia to continue to weaken under the influence of adverse atmospheric and oceanic conditions, and it is expected to dissipate within 2 days.

This image of Ophelia was created on Feb 7 at 5:53 UTC (12:53 a.m. EST) by data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. In the image, the round purple object to the northwest of Australia is Ophelia.

This AIRS image shows the temperature of the cloud tops or the surface of the Earth in cloud-free regions. The lowest temperatures (in purple) are associated with high, cold cloud tops that make up the top of Ophelia.

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 surface of the Earth, revealing warmer temperatures (red).

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