March 25, 2015 - Tropical Cyclone Nathan (18P) over Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Tropical Cyclone Nathan (18P) over Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Long-lived and slow-moving Tropical Cyclone Nathan was making landfall in eastern Queensland, Australia’s Cape York Peninsula in late March, 2015 as NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard captured a stunning true-color image of the storm at 405 UTC (12:05 a.m. EDT) on March 20. At that time, the cyclone’s clouds cover all of the Cape York Peninsula with the exception of the far northern tip. Bands of thunderstorms spiraled into the center of circulation from the south. An eye was no longer visible as the friction encountered from landfall weakened the storm.

At 0900 UTC (5:00 a.m. EDT), Tropical Cyclone Nathan's maximum sustained winds were near 86 mph (139 km/h). It was located near 14.5 south latitude and 143.2 east longitude, about 208 293 miles (385 km) northwest of Cairns, Australia. At that time, Nathan was moving to the west at nearly 10 mph (16.6 km/h).

Tropical Cyclone Nathan formed in the Coral Sea in early March, with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issuing its first advisory on the storm on the evening of March 10. Nathan reached peak strength on March 19 when maximum sustained winds reached 104 mph (167 km/h), or Category 2 strength. Fortunately the storm weakened before striking the York Peninsula. After drenching the Peninsula, Nathan moved off shore, only to strike the northeastern tip of Northern Territory on March 23. The BOM issued its last advisory on Nathan on the evening of March 24, when it became a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 29 mph (47 km/h).

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/20/2015
Resolutions: 1km (805.7 KB), 500m (2.7 MB), 250m (6.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC