September 9, 2013 - Tropical Storm Gabrielle (07L) off Puerto Rico

Tropical Storm Gabrielle (07L) off Puerto Rico

One hour before midnight Eastern Daylight Time on September 4, 2013, Tropical Depression 7 strengthened into Tropical Storm Gabrielle just 70 miles south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The short-lived Gabrielle lasted about twelve hours at Tropical Storm strength before dry air and wind shear caused it to weaken. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded Gabrielle as its initial low-level center of circulation became detached from the most vigorous convection.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the region on September 5 at 15:15 UTC (11:15 EDT) and captured this true-color image of Tropical Storm Gabrielle in her waning moments. In this image, two distinct areas of cloud cover can be seen. The initial low-level circulation sits to the south, while the more vigorous convection can be seen to the northeast.

Just fifteen minutes earlier, at 13:00 UTC (11:00 a.m. EDT), the NCH reported Gabrielle’s maximum sustained winds registered 35 mph (55 km/h). It was centered about 80 miles (125 km) south-southeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and was moving to the northwest at 9 mph (15 km/h).

By 11 p.m. EDT on Sept. 5 (Sept. 6 at 0300 UTC), the National Hurricane Center noted that Gabrielle had dissipated near 19.0 north and 68.5 west, about 30 miles/45 km north-northwest of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. All of the warnings and watches that were associated with Gabrielle had been dropped. Despite the dissipation, Gabrielle's remnants were dropping heavy rain over both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The remnants were moving to the north-northwest at 9 mph (14 km/h).

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 9/5/2013
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC