image: The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite data was used to create a 3-D image of Tropical Depression 11W's rainfall and cloud heights as it passed overhead on July 26. TD11W had towering convective storms near their centers of circulation that extended to heights above 15km (~9.3 miles) with heavy rainfall, falling at 2 inches (50 mm) per hour. view more
Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce
A NASA satellite has observed Tropical Depression 11W become more organized on infrared imagery. Fortunately, it is moving away from land areas for the next couple of days.
Yap and Guam are both experiencing the tail end of gusty winds and rains as Tropical Depression 11W moves between the two islands in the western North Pacific today.
At 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) on July 27, Tropical Depression 11W's (TD11W) maximum sustained winds were still near 30 knots (34 mph). It was located about 290 nautical miles southwest of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam near 10.7 North and 140.5 East. It was moving to the northwest near 12 knots (14 mph).
When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over TD11W on July 26 at 16:05 UTC (12:05 p.m. EDT) the center of circulation appeared much more rounded than it had in the previous days, indicating that the storm was getting better organized. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument captured the infrared image that showed powerful, high thunderstorms with cold cloud tops surrounded the center of TD11W's circulation, although the center is partially exposed to outside winds. There were also a number of bands of thunderstorms around the center. TD11W is kicking up waves of 12 feet high, and generating rough surf at Yap and Guam.
TD11W is moving around the western edge of a low to mid-level ridge of high pressure, and will continue in a northwestward direction for the next day or two. After that, the ridge is expected to weaken and the storm track will head in a more northeasterly direction.