image: This infrared image of Tropical Storm Nesat was taken from the AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite on July 26 at 0529 UTC (1:29 a.m. EDT). The purple areas indicate coldest cloud tops and strongest storms. view more
Credit: Credits: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen
Tropical Storm Nesat formed early on July 26 just east of the Philippines and NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead gathering temperature data to determine the location of the most powerful storms. Imagery showed strong storms from Nesat's western side were affecting the central Philippines.
Infrared satellite imagery from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite taken on July 26 at 0529 UTC (1:29 a.m. EDT) provided a look at the temperatures of Nesat's clouds. That data was false colored and made into an image at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to highlight cloud top temperatures.
In infrared imagery, the coldest cloud tops indicate towering thunderstorms high into the troposphere. The colder the clouds, the stronger the storms. AIRS data showed that some cloud tops around the center of circulation were as cold as minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 53 degrees Celsius. Cloud top temperatures that cold have been shown to generate heavy rainfall and were seen stretching through the central Philippines from the storm's western quadrant. At the time of the image, the center of the tropical storm remained east of the Philippines, in the Philippine Sea.
On July 26 at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) Tropical Storm Nesat, known in the Philippines as Gorio had maximum sustained winds near 45 knots (52 mph/83 kph) and strengthening. Nesat is moving to the north at 4 knots (4.6 mph/7.4 kph).
It was centered near 17.3 degrees north latitude and 127.9 degrees east longitude, about 570 nautical miles south of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Island, Japan. Kadena Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
Nesat is forecast to move past the Philippines and not make landfall there. Instead it will move north, later northwest while intensifying quickly. The system will peak at 85 knots (97.8 mph/157.4 kph) prior to approaching Taiwan by July 30.
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By Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center