image: NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of the northeastern quadrant of the very small Subtropical Storm named Joel that formed quickly on May 28 and dissipated on May 29, southeast of Madagascar. On May 28 at 1200 UTC (8:00 a.m. EDT) Subtropical Storm Joel, formerly System 98S, formed in the Southern Indian Ocean. At that time, Joel's center was located near 26.8 South latitude and 46.9 East longitude. Joel was almost stationary, and its maximum sustained winds were 45 knots (52 mph). The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Subtropical Storm Joel on May 28 at 11:05 UTC (7:05 a.m. EDT). At that time, it had just strengthened enough to get its name. The image showed Joel southeast of Madagascar. Joel was a very small subtropical storm, spanning only one degree across. By 0000 UTC on May 29 (8 p.m. EDT, May 28) Joel's maximum sustained winds had already decreased to 30 knots (35 mph), and it was weakening quickly. By 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT) Joel had become a remnant low. view more
Credit: Text: NASA/Rob Gutro Image: NASA JPL/Ed Olsen