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The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over newborn Tropical Storm Gonzalo on October 13, 2014 and captured this true-color image. At that time, Gonzalo was obtaining a weak apostrophe shape around a cloud-filled center of rotation as it passed over the Leeward Islands.
Just a few hours later on the same day, Gonzalo strengthened enough become a hurricane as it passed over the northern Leeward Islands. Continuing to intensify, Gonzalo become the second Category 3 hurricane of the2014 Atlantic hurricane season on October 14, then by the next day peaked as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph (215 km/h) as it spun in the Atlantic Ocean about 640 mi (1025 km) south southwest of Bermuda.
Fortunately, Gonzalo began to weaken quickly. Before slamming Bermuda at 0030 UTC (12:30 a.m.) on October 17, the storm carried maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 km/h) – a strong Category 2 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). By the next day, Gonzalo was moving quickly away from Bermuda and heading towards Newfoundland. At 2100 UTC (5:00 p.m. EDT), the NHC reported Hurricane Gonzalo was about 410 km (660 km south southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia with sustained winds of 90 mph (150 km/h). A Tropical Storm watch was in effect from Arnold’s Cover to Chapels Cove, Newfoundland as the storm is predicted to move off the coast as it gradually weakens.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 10/13/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC