image: On July 17 at 10 a.m. GMT (6 a.m. EDT), RapidScat saw Enrique's strongest sustained winds at 21 meters per second (m/s) (46.9 mph/75.6 kph) north of the center. view more
Credit: Credits: NASA JPL/Doug Tyler
Although it appeared that Tropical Storm Enrique had weakened to a tropical depression, satellite data revealed that there was still some punch left in the system and it was re-classified a tropical storm on July 17. Scatterometer data from Europe's METOP satellite and NASA's RapidScat instrument confirmed those tropical-storm-force winds were occurring in one part of the storm.
National Hurricane Center Forecaster Pasch noted on July 17, 2015 at 5 a.m. EDT, "Data from a recent ASCAT overpass showed that Enrique had not weakened quite as much as earlier estimated, and that there were still tropical storm force winds over the northwest quadrant of the cyclone." ASCAT-A is the Advanced Scatterometer that flies aboard Europe's EUMETSAT METOP satellite. ASCAT uses radar to measure the electromagnetic backscatter from the wind-roughened ocean surface, from which data on wind speed and direction can be derived. These products are processed by NOAA/NESDIS utilizing measurements from ASCAT. "The current intensity estimate is set at 35 knots resulting in the re-designation of the system as a tropical storm," Pasch said.
On July 16, RapidScat saw the Enrique's strongest sustained winds were near at 21 meters per second (m/s) (46.9 mph/ 75.6 kph) and just north of the center of circulation. When RapidScat analyzed the surface winds again on July 17 at 10 a.m. GMT (6 a.m. EDT), they were still at the same speed, and just north-northwest of the center of circulation.
At 5 a.m. EDT on July 17, the center of Tropical Storm Enrique was located near latitude 20.6 North and longitude 136.8 West, about 1,730 miles (2,785 km) west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Enrique was moving toward the west-northwest near 6 mph (9 kph and is expected to turn to the west-southwest. Satellite wind data indicate that the maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 kph) with higher gusts.
Enrique should be traversing waters cooler than 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) and entraining rather stable air. Therefore, weakening is still anticipated and the system is forecast to degenerate into a remnant low by sometime on July 18.
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