Tropical Cyclone Edilson No More
It didn't take long for Tropical Cyclone Edilson to fizzle after running into increasing vertical wind shear.
Vertical wind shear increased significantly over Edilson's track to the south-southwest on Friday, February 7. At 2100 UTC/4 p.m. EST, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their last advisory on the tropical cyclone. At that time, Edilson's maximum sustained winds dropped to 35 knots/40 mph/62 kph. It was located near 30.6 south latitude and 53.3 east longitude, about 616 nautical miles/708.9 miles/1,141 km south of St. Denis, La Reunion Island. Edilson was moving to the south-southwest at 18 knots/20.7 mph/33.3 kph and kicking up seas as high as 14 feet/4.2 meters.
By Saturday, February 8, Edilson dissipated in the Southern Indian Ocean long before it ever reached northern New Zealand.
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
[image-110][image-126]Feb. 07, 2014 - NASA Spots Very Heavy Rainfall Rates in Tropical Cyclone Edilson
Imagine receiving as much as 7 inches of rain in one hour. That's about what NASA's TRMM satellite spotted falling in one area within Tropical Cyclone Edilson as it moved over the Southern Indian Ocean.
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite is managed by both NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency called JAXA. TRMM can read the rate in which rain is falling on Earth while in its orbit high above.
The TRMM satellite had an excellent early morning look at Edilson on February 7, 2014 at 0237 UTC/06:28 local time when it passed directly above the tropical cyclone. A rainfall analysis from TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments was overlaid on an enhanced visible/infrared image from TRMM's Visible and InfraRed Scanner (VIRS) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. to create a total picture of the storm.
Rainfall data showed Edilson south of La Reunion and Mauritius Islands dropping its heaviest rain at a rate of over 175mm/~6.9 inches per hour in an intense feeder band on the eastern side of the tropical cyclone.
TRMM's PR data sliced through Edilson providing data for a 3-D look inside the tropical cyclone. Those data revealed that the highest thunderstorm tops, reaching heights over 14.75km/~9.1 miles were also located in the feeder band east of Edilson's center of circulation.
At 1500 UTC/10 a.m. EST on February 7, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC noted that Edilson was located near 29.7 south and 53.9 east, about 508 nautical miles/584.6 miles/940.8 km south of Saint Denis. Edilson's maximum sustained winds were near 50 knots/57 mph/92.6 kph. The tropical storm is moving to the south-southwest at 16 knots/18.4 mph/29.6 kph.
Since the TRMM satellite passed over Edilson, the strongest thunderstorms have weakened as convection has decayed. That's because Edilson is now located within an upper-level shortwave trough (elongated area of low pressure) and is being battered with strong northerly vertical wind shear between 20 and 30 knots/23.0 to 34.5 mph/37.0 to 55.5 kph).
Edilson is expected to continue on a southerly track over the next several days as it becomes extra-tropical over open waters of the Southern Indian Ocean.
Text credit: Hal Pierce/Rob Gutro
SSAI/NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
[image-94]Feb. 06, 2014 - NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Edilson Leaving Mauritius
NASA's Terra satellite saw Tropical Cyclone Edilson pulling away from the island of Mauritius in the Southern Indian Ocean when it passed overhead on February 6, 2014.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard Terra took a visible image of Edilson as its northwestern quadrant still covered the island of Mauritius. Clouds from the fringe of Edilson also blanketed La Reunion Island (located to the southwest of Mauritius). The image showed a good rotation in the storm, with a shadowed center of circulation, hinting at the development of an eye. Microwave satellite data has also suggested the development of an eye. In addition, multi-spectral satellite imagery showed that the storm has been consolidating and there are strong curved bands of thunderstorms wrapping around the western quadrant of the storm.
Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Edilson to briefly become a hurricane over the next day.
At 1500 UTC/10 a.m. EST, Edilson's maximum sustained winds were near 55 knots/63.2 mph/101.9 kph. The tropical storm was centered near 23.3 south latitude and 57.5 east longitude, about 160 nautical miles/184.1 miles/296.3 km south-southeast of Port Louis, Mauritius. Edilson has been moving to the south-southwest at 16 knots/18.4 mph/29.6 kph.
Edilson is expected to track in a southerly direction over the next couple of days. It is forecast to move to the southwest before turning to the southeast sometime on February 9.
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
[image-51][image-78]Feb. 05, 2014 - Tropical Cyclone Edilson Birth Caught By NASA's Aqua Satellite
The thirteenth tropical cyclone of the Southern Pacific Ocean season formed into a tropical storm named Edilson on February 5 shortly before NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead. Edilson is threatening several land areas.
A Class I Cyclone Warning is now in effect for Rodrigues Island and a Class II Cyclone Warning is in effect for Mauritius. Edilson formed to the northern of Mauritius and is moving south.
At 09:50 UTC/4:50 a.m. EST on February 5, NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Edilson and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument captured a visible image of the storm. The MODIS image showed a large broken band of thunderstorms to the north, and a large band of storms from the east, wrapping into the low-level center of circulation. Edilson's center was to the northeast of the islands of Mauritius and La Reunion, and Edilson's eastern quadrant had spread clouds over Rodrigues Island of the Republic of Mauritius.
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument also aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured infrared data on Edilson at the same time that showed strong thunderstorms with heavy rain potential around and north of the center. Cloud top temperatures in those areas were in excess of -63F/-52C.
On February 5 at 1500 UTC/10 a.m. EST, Edilson had maximum sustained winds near 40 knots/46 mph/73 kph. The center of the tropical storm was about 297 nautical miles/341.8 miles/550 km northeast of Saint Denis, La Reunion Island, near 18.9 south latitude and 60.0 east longitude. Edilson is moving to the south at 8 knots/9.2 mph/14.8 kph.
Edilson is moving along the western edge of a mid-layered subtropical ridge (elongated area) of high pressure situated to the east of the tropical storm. As Edilson continues tracking along the high, it will begin to move more southward over the coming days.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Edilson to intensify to hurricane force briefly before weakening.
Text credit: Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
