July 3, 2013 - Tropical Storm Barry (02L) off Mexico

Tropical Storm Barry (02L) off Mexico

The second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed in the Bay of Campeche, strengthening from a tropical depression on June 19, 2013. At that time, Tropical Storm Barry’s center was located near 19.6° North latitude and 95.1° West longitude, just 75 miles (115 km) east-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico.

NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the storm on June 20, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument flying aboard to capture this true-color image at 17:25 UTC (12:25 p.m. CDT), when the center of the storm spun over land and rain bands stretched across most of central and southern Mexico.

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Storm Barry made landfall between 12:00 and 13:00 UTC (7:00 – 8:00 a.m. CDT) on June 20, with an estimated maximum wind speed of 46 mph (74 km/h). After making landfall, the wind speeds quickly dropped, and Barry was deemed a mere tropical depression by 19:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. CDT) that same evening. The NHC issued their last advisory on the cyclone just six hours later, when Barry had further weakened to a post-tropical depression.

Although Tropical Storm Barry was a relatively weak and short-lived, it was a significant rainmaker, and caused severe flooding in some areas from northern Nicaragua to Veracruz. At least three people were reported to have died in the floods in Mexico.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 6/20/2013
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC