image: By noon EDT on August 5, Hurricane Felicia had strengthened to a major hurricane with sustained winds near 115 mph on its westward track in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. At that time, it was about 1,370 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, near 14.1 north latitude and 128.7 west longitude. It was moving northwest near 12 mph and had a minimum central pressure near 955 millibars. Hurricane force winds were compact, and extended 35 miles out from its center, while tropical storm force winds went much farther out, as far as 120 miles from the center! The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite flew above Felicia at 7:17 p.m. EDT (2317 UTC) on August 4 and captured data on Felicia's rainfall. A TRMM based rainfall analysis derived from the TRMM Microwave Imager and Precipitation Radar instruments was overlaid on a Visible and Infrared image from the Visible and Infrared Scanner to provide forecasters with a look at how intense the rain was falling inside Felicia. At the time of the analysis wind speeds were estimated to be over 70 knots (~81 miles per hour). Very heavy rainfall of over 50 millimeters per hour (~ 2 inches per hour) was shown by the TRMM analysis in the southeastern edge of the forming eye. The National Hurricane Center expects Felicia to maintain intensity of the next couple of days. view more
Credit: Hal Pierce/SSAI and Rob Gutro/NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center