NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Gone are System 96W's Chances for Organization

Satellite data on July 4, revealed that System 96W had become more disorganized. There was no deep convection seen in the system today, which really dropped its chance of becoming a tropical depression. On July 5, 2012, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center removed any possibility of System 96W from becoming a tropical depression over the next couple of days.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

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July 3, 2012
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NASA's AIRS instrument (on the Aqua satellite) captured this infrared image of System 96W on July 2, 2012 at 1705 UTC (1:05 p.m. EDT) over the central Philippines. The strongest thunderstorms have high, cold cloud tops of -63F (-52C).
Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen NASA Sees Heavy Rainfall in Tropical Low Over Philippines

System 96W may not be organized enough to be classified as a tropical depression, but it is drenching the central Philippines. NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of cloud top temperatures that indicate System 96W has strong storms and heavy rainfall.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of System 96W on July 2, 2012 at 1705 UTC (1:05 p.m. EDT) , as the low pressure area sat over the central Philippines. The strongest thunderstorms had high, cold cloud tops with temperatures as cold as -63F (-52C), and those were seen over Visayas and southern Luzon. AIRS imagery also showed that strong convection (rising air that forms thunderstorms that make up a tropical low) was flaring up over the northern Philippines and out into the eastern South China Sea.

Visayas is one of three divisions of the Philippines. The other two are Mindanao to the south and Luzon to the north, and like Visayas, both contain a number of islands. Visayas' islands primarily surround the Visayan Sea, although some islands are in the Sulu Sea.

According to WesternPacificWeather.com, two people have been killed in Valenzuela City, Bulacan as a result of the storm. They also reported that Cabanatuan City in Central Luzon received up to 56 mm (2.2 inches) of rainfall, and the just north of Manila rainfall totaled up to 48 mm (19 inches). The PAGASA-Hydrology Department reported that the Ipo Dam opened its spillways to release built up water from its reservoir as a result of System 96W's rainfall.

On July 3, the center of System 96W was located near 14.3 North and 122.2 East, about 74 nautical miles (85.1 miles/137 km) east-southeast of Manila. Light wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures are favorable for further development of this system. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center gives System 96W a medium chance to become a tropical depression over the next day.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.