image: NASA's TRMM satellite showed a large area of heavy rain (red) south of Humberto's center of circulation on Sept. 9 at 9:47 p.m. EDT. A red tropical storm symbol shows Humberto's approximate center. view more
Credit: SSAI/NASA, Hal Pierce
NASA's TRMM satellite saw heavy rain falling south of Tropical Storm Humberto's center as it continues to strengthen in the Eastern Atlantic.
NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite called TRMM passed near Humberto on September 10, 2013 at 0147 UTC (9:47 p.m. Sept. 9) and collected data used in this rainfall analysis. TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) showed a large area of heavy rain south of Humberto's center of circulation. Rain was falling at a rate of 2 inches/50 mm per hour.
At 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 10, Humberto's maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph/100 kph, just 9 mph shy of hurricane-force. Humberto is now predicted by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to become a hurricane later today, Sept. 10.
The center of Tropical Storm Humberto was located near latitude 14.6 north and longitude 27.7 west, about 220 miles/355 km west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. Humberto is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph/15 kph and is expected to turn to the northwest later today then north. The estimated minimum central pressure is 998 millibars.
If Humberto becomes a hurricane, it would be the first of the Atlantic Ocean season.