video: This animation of visible and infrared imagery from NOAA's GOES-West satellite from Aug. 27-29 shows Tropical Storm Erika move through the Eastern Caribbean Sea and dissipate near eastern Cuba. TRT: 0:50 view more
Credit: Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
Satellite data from NOAA's GOES-East satellite was made into an animation that showed the demise of former Tropical Storm Erika as it neared eastern Cuba early on August 29.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA/NOAA's GOES Project compiled three days' worth of imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite that showed the movement and changes in former Tropical Storm Erika from August 27 to August 29. The animation showed Erika move through the Leeward Islands and into the Eastern Caribbean Sea, as its center passed just south of Puerto Rico, then crossed over the island of Hispaniola which has the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic where the storm weakened. Erika then moved in a westerly direction where it dissipated near eastern Cuba.
On the previous day when NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Erika, infrared data still showed that the storm had powerful thunderstorms with very cold cloud top temperatures near -63F/-53C. Cloud top temperatures that cold have been shown to generate heavy rainfall, and heavy rain has been the biggest problem with Erika, causing flooding in Dominica. On August 27, the Canefield Airport near Roseau, Dominica reported 12.64 inches of rain fell between 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT.
Heavy rainfall continues to be a big threat with Erika's remnants. On August 29, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted the remnants are expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with maximum amounts of 10 inches possible across portions of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and eastern and central Cuba through Sunday, August 30. In addition, rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are expected across the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as the southeastern and central Bahamas through Sunday. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches, with locally heavier amounts, are possible across southern and central Florida beginning on Sunday.
The NHC issued their final advisory on Erika on Saturday, August 29 at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 UTC). At that time the remnants of Erika were estimated near latitude 21.5 North and longitude 75.9 West near the north coast of eastern Cuba. The center was about 130 miles (205 km) east of Camaguey, Cuba, and about 260 miles (420 km) south-southeast of Nassau, Bahamas. The remnants were moving toward the west-northwest near 22 mph (35 kph) and are expected to continue in that direction for another day.
Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 kph) and had an estimated minimum central pressure is 1011 millibars.
NHC noted that Erika's remnants are expected to move into the southeastern Gulf of Mexico on
Sunday, August 30. All coastal watches and warnings are discontinued.
NHC Forecaster Beven noted in the final discussion on Erika that dynamical computer models suggest that the strong wind shear that has been affecting the storm could relax by the time the system reaches the Gulf of Mexico, and there is a possibility that Erika could regenerate.
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