The image above shows an RGB (red, green, blue) color composite image from Aug. 5, 2014, at 1511 UTC, or 11:15 a.m. EDT of several channels from the Global Precipitation Mission using the Microwave Imager for Hurricane Iselle in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The RGB color model combines red, green, and blue light together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors.
The image was taken from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Advanced Weather Information Processing System or NAWIPS – the current decision support system used by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center. The data, along with the Advanced Temperature Microwave Sounder or ATMS imagery from the Suomi-NPP satellite, is provided to the National Hurricane Center in near real-time by SPoRT for use with other products to monitor the development of tropical storms. SPoRT is a NASA project to transition unique observations and research capabilities to the operational weather community to improve short-term forecasts on a regional scale.
The data is also being made available to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu to monitor storms in its area of responsibility.
At the time the image was taken, the center of Hurricane Iselle was located near latitude 16.0 north and longitude 139.5 west. The National Hurricane Center reported that Iselle’s maximum sustained winds were near 125 mph (205 kph), making Iselle a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Core Observatory was launched Feb. 27 from Japan and began its prime mission on May 29, just in time for the hurricane season.
For more information about Hurricane Iselle on the NASA Hurricane page:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/iselle-eastern-pacific-ocean/
For more information about GPM, visit:
Image credit: NASA/GPM