image: NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Storm Bret on June 20 at 17:48 UTC (1:48 p.m. EDT) that showed Bret's center of circulation in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela. view more
Credit: Credits: NOAA/ NASA Goddard Rapid Response Team
Tropical Storm Bret was weakening with NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead on June 20, and within three hours of the overpass, Bret degenerated into a tropical wave.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible light image of Tropical Storm Bret on June 20 at 17:48 UTC (1:48 p.m. EDT). The image showed Bret's center of circulation in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela. The clouds along the periphery of Bret's eastern quadrant stretched along the islands of the Lesser Antilles.
By 5 p.m. EDT, Bret had degenerated into a tropical wave and the National Hurricane Center or NHC had issued their final advisory. At that time, Bret's center was near 12.0 degrees north latitude and 67.3 degrees west longitude. That's about 115 miles (190 km) east of Curacao. Curaçao is an island country about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of the Venezuelan coast. The remnants were rapidly moving toward the west-northwest near 22 mph (35 kph). Maximum sustained winds at the time were near 40 mph (65 kph) with higher gusts. Those winds were associated with squalls to the north of the center.
A tropical wave is a trough, or elongated low pressure area. At 5 p.m. EDT, satellite images and surface observations indicate that Bret no longer had a closed circulation and has degenerated into a tropical wave.
On June 21 at 7:07 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center noted "Remnant energy and multilayered clouds from Bret have been moving northward in the Caribbean Sea between 64 degrees west and 75 degrees west." Isolated moderate to locally strong precipitation was occurring from the tropical wave between 65 degrees west and 72 degrees west.
For additional information please visit: http://www.hurricanes.gov/marine
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