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October 28, 2014 - Dust storms over the Arabian Sea
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Unsettled weather continued over the Arabian Sea in late October 2014, bringing blowing dust as well as a tropical cyclone to the region.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on October 16, 2014. In this image, the light tan landscape of Oman can be seen in the west, and the greener coast of Pakistan to the east. A broad river of dust arcs to the south between them, and a thinner arc streams across the northern section of the image. The entire region is covered by a thin haze. Agricultural fires in the northeast, out of view, may also be contributing smoke to the hazy skies.
October is typically the time between the summer and winter monsoons in this region and the weather patterns are quite changeable over the Arabian Sea. Usually this means shifting winds and dust, but on October 26, the India Meteorological Department reported that a cyclonic storm, named Nilofar, had formed from a deep depression over the Arabian Sea.
Nilofar attained hurricane strength on Oct. 27, when maximum sustained winds were 86 mph (139 km/h) at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT). Nilofar was centered near 15.2 north latitude and 62.2 east longitude, about 381 nautical miles south-southeast of Masirah Island and was crawling at about 4 mph (6 km/h) to the west-northwest.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Nilofar to meander in a northerly direction for a couple of days before taking a more northwesterly path toward northwestern India where it is expected to make landfall on Oct. 31.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/16/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Unsettled weather continued over the Arabian Sea in late October 2014, bringing blowing dust as well as a tropical cyclone to the region.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on October 16, 2014. In this image, the light tan landscape of Oman can be seen in the west, and the greener coast of Pakistan to the east. A broad river of dust arcs to the south between them, and a thinner arc streams across the northern section of the image. The entire region is covered by a thin haze. Agricultural fires in the northeast, out of view, may also be contributing smoke to the hazy skies.
October is typically the time between the summer and winter monsoons in this region and the weather patterns are quite changeable over the Arabian Sea. Usually this means shifting winds and dust, but on October 26, the India Meteorological Department reported that a cyclonic storm, named Nilofar, had formed from a deep depression over the Arabian Sea.
Nilofar attained hurricane strength on Oct. 27, when maximum sustained winds were 86 mph (139 km/h) at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT). Nilofar was centered near 15.2 north latitude and 62.2 east longitude, about 381 nautical miles south-southeast of Masirah Island and was crawling at about 4 mph (6 km/h) to the west-northwest.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Nilofar to meander in a northerly direction for a couple of days before taking a more northwesterly path toward northwestern India where it is expected to make landfall on Oct. 31.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/16/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
