image: This image of Hurricane Ioke shows the powerful Category 4 hurricane as it was passing well south of the Hawaiian Islands in the Central Pacific. The image was taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (or TRMM) satellite at 20:45 UTC (9:45 am HST) on the 21st of August 2006. At the time of this image, Ioke was estimated to have sustained winds of 115 knots (132 mph) by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. The image shows a 3-D perspective of Ioke using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar data. The view is looking west. The eyewall is readily apparent in this image as a tight ring of deep towers (red tops) that reach up to around 12.5 km. The convection associated with these towers (and intense rain) is fueling Ioke's circulation by releasing large amounts of heat into the storms core. Ioke is expected to continue moving to the northwest and slowly weaken with the center passing near to Johnston Island. view more
Credit: Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC).