Intensifying Tropical Cyclone Moving Over Samoan Islands
The TRMM satellite passed above an intensifying tropical cyclone in the South Pacific Ocean called Evan on December 11, 2012 at 1759 UTC. Evan is predicted to attain hurricane force winds on December 13, 2012 when it is moving through the Samoan Islands. An analysis of Evan's rainfall from TRMM's Precipitation Radar (PR) and Microwave Imager (TMI) shows that Evan already had an eye-like structure at the time of this TRMM orbit.
Click here To a simulated flyby courtesy of TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) data.
TRMM's 3-D Precipitation Radar (PR) data were used to measure the heights of Evan's storm tops. It found that the tallest thunderstorms shown around Evan's center of circulation reached 16.5 km (10.25 miles) while other storms tops nearby were measured at 14.75 km (9.17 miles).