Hurricane Season 2011: Hurricane Irene (Atlantic Ocean)

This infrared image from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite shows Irene's remnant clouds (blue) and rain still lingering over eastern Canada on August 30 at 2:29 a.m. EDT. (Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen)

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...CONNECTICUT...

BURLINGTON 8.70

EAST HARTFORD 8.18

MONROE 7.40

DANBURY 6.72

OXFORD 6.69

WEST HAVEN 6.00

GREENWICH 6.00



...DELAWARE...

ELLENDALE 10.43

ADAMSVILLE 10.00

MILFORD 9.26

DOVER 8.79

HARRINGTON 8.75

GUMBORO 8.62

TOWNSEND 8.34

WILMINGTON 6.48



...MASSACHUSETTS...

SAVOY 9.10

SHELBURNE FALLS 8.50

TOLLAND 7.90

HEATH 7.70

GOSHEN 7.50

WESTHAMPTON 7.15

MILFORD 6.00



...MARYLAND...

PLUM POINT 12.96

EASTON 11.34

HICKMAN 10.50

CALIFORNIA 9.76

RIDGE 8.96

PATUXENT RIVER 8.15

FEDERALSBURG 8.00



...MAINE...

PHILLIPS 6.11

ANDOVER 5.96



...NORTH CAROLINA...

BUNYAN 15.66

NEW BERN 14.79

WILLIAMSTON 14.27

WASHINGTON 13.11

GREENVILLE 12.32

JACKSONVILLE 11.70

CROATAN FOREST 11.13

HAVELOCK 10.70

HOLLY SHELTER 8.26

SOUTHPORT 7.84

WILMINGTON 7.60

ELIZABETH CITY 7.50



...NEW HAMPSHIRE...

SANDWICH 6.09

WASHINGTON 6.00

NORTH WEARE 5.37



...NEW JERSEY...

STOCKTON 10.32

WAYNE 10.20

ORANGE 9.96

PETERSBURG 9.52

NEWARK 8.92

SOMERDALE 8.60

ESTELL MANOR 8.57

HEISLERVILLE 8.50

WINDSOR 8.40

TETERBORO 8.22

SOMERVILLE 7.29

WOODSTOWN 6.98

PLAINSBORO 6.73



...NEW YORK...

TUXEDO PARK 11.48

HARRIMAN 10.45

SUMMIT 8.88

LIVINGSTON 8.26

HUDSON 7.05

NYC CENTRAL PARK 6.87

NORTHPORT 6.78

GRAVESEND 6.78



...PENNSYLVANIA...

LAFAYETTE 8.82

FORKS TWP 8.53

EXTON 7.83

WEST CHESTER 7.46

SPRINGTOWN 7.26

ASTON TWP 6.79

KING OF PRUSSIA 6.71

MORGANTOWN 6.21

PHILADELPHIA 5.70



...RHODE ISLAND...

WARREN 5.37



...VIRGINIA...

SUFFOLK 11.04

NEWLAND 10.50

WAKEFIELD 9.25

NORFOLK 8.73

NASA Wallops reports on Twitter that 8.6 inches of rain have fallen at the main base with winds reaching 65 miles per hour (mph).

WILLIAMSBURG 8.21

PORTSMOUTH 7.82

GWYNNS ISLAND 7.27

SANDSTON 6.38

NEWPORT NEWS 6.23



...VERMONT...

WALDEN 7.60

RANDOLPH CENTER 7.15

LUDLOW 6.61

WOODFORD 6.58

WARREN 5.75

CHELSEA 5.25



The GOES-13 satellite captured this stunning visible image of Hurricane Irene at 8:32 a.m. EDT, just 28 minutes before Irene's landfall in New York City. The image showed Irene's huge cloud cover blanketing New England, New York and over Toronto, Canada. Shadows in Irene's clouds indicate the bands of thunderstorms that surround now tropical storm Irene. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project) › Larger image

This GOES-13 satellite movie shows Hurricane Irene lashing the Mid-Atlantic and just making landfall in New York City. The animation runs from August 26, 2011, at 8:45 a.m. EDT to August 28 at 8:45 a.m. EDT. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters)

Infrared image of Hurricane Irene from the AIRS instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, taken at 2:47 a.m. EDT on Aug. 28. The storm's coldest cloud top temperatures and intense rains are shown in purples and blues. Image credit: NASA/JPL › Larger image

Ocean-surface wind speeds and directions for Hurricane Irene six hours prior to the storm's landfall in North Carolina on Aug. 27. The highest wind speeds are shown in yellows, oranges and reds. The arrows indicate wind direction. Image credit: ISRO/NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team

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The GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Irene on August 27, 2011 at 10:10 a.m. EDT after it made landfall at 8 a.m. in Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Irene's outer bands had already extended into New England. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

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GOES-13 satellite imagery in 15 minute intervals from August 25, 2011 at 9:40 a.m. EDT to August 27 at 9:40 a.m. EDT. The animations show Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas and making landfall at Cape Lookout, North Carolina at around 8 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters)

Infrared image of Hurricane Irene taken at 1:59 p.m. EDT (17:59 UTC) on Aug. 26, 2011 by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft. Areas colored purple represent the storm's coldest cloud-top temperatures and areas of heaviest precipitation.



Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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This visible image of Hurricane Irene from the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite was taken at August 26 at 12:30 p.m. EDT, when Hurricane Irene was off the Carolinas. (Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team)

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A digital photo from the International Space Station from Aug. 23, 2011, allows the viewer to look toward the southwest at part of Hurricane Irene churning near the northern Bahamas, including Great Abaco Island (lower right), Andros Island under a thunderstorm (center right) and a "fair" Cuba from left to right (upper center). The outflow and some of the banding of the northwest side of Irene are visible on the lower left. Meteorologists say Irene probably was centered over Acklins Island packing 120 mile per hour winds when the photo was taken. ID#-ISS028-E-030243 Credit: NASA

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The MODIS Instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Irene over the southern Bahamas on August 24, 2011 at 15:05 UTC (11:05 a.m. EDT). Just three hours later at 2 p.m. EDT, Hurricane Irene's eye was over Crooked Island, Bahamas, near 22.7 North and 74.3 West. Irene's winds increased to 120 mph (195 kmh) and it was moving to the northwest near 12 mph (19 kmh). Irene's minimum central pressure is 954 millibars. Image Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response

A GOES-13 animation from Aug. 19, 2011, through Aug. 22, 2011, (1545 UTC/11: 45 a.m. EDT) shows the progression of Tropical Storm Harvey through the western Caribbean Sea and the birth of Hurricane Irene. Over the weekend, Harvey made landfall in Belize and is moving into Mexico today, Aug. 22, 2011. Farther east, System 99L developed into Hurricane Irene on August 20. Irene moved over Puerto Rico and is now moving west-northwest toward the southeastern Bahamas today. (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

System 98L exploded into Tropical Storm Irene on Saturday, August 20. This GOES-13 Video shows Tropical Storm Harvey making landfall in Belize (just beneath the Yucatan Peninsula) and moving into the Bay of Campeche Aug. 21, 2011, while Irene moved in from the east toward Puerto Rico (right). (Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

In the wake of Hurricane Irene’s heavy rains, sediment filled many rivers and bays along the U.S. East Coast. New York’s Hudson River and estuary was no exception. In this true-color satellite image, pale green and tan water flows past Manhattan and mixes with the darker waters of New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.This image was acquired on August 31, 2011, when Landsat 5 viewed the coast from the Carolinas to New York. Color generally correlates with the amount and type of sediment: lighter green and tan areas have more suspended silt and sand than dark blue waters. Brown waters likely indicate more mud or leaf tannins from inland runoff; the Passaic River in New Jersey is an example.In addition to soil and sand, flooding rivers can carry sewage, pesticides, and excess fertilizer. After Hurricane Floyd struck in 1999, scientists used similar satellite data to map flood waters in North Carolina.To see the full Landsat 5 U.S. East Coast scene and zoom into particular areas, click here: http://gigapan.org/gigapans/85783/ Mike Carlowicz, NASA Earth Observatory NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) has been busy doing just that: measuring the massive amounts of rainfall left in the wake of Hurricane Irene as she ravaged the Caribbean and U.S. East coast this past week.TRMM is a satellite that is managed by both NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, and provides inside looks at rainfall rates occurring in tropical weather, including hurricanes. Over the life of Irene, TRMM also calculated cloud heights, which indicated strengthening or weakening of the hurricane. TRMM noticed that whenever "hot towers" or towering high cumulonimbus clouds peaked near the top of the troposphere that Irene would later strengthen, and she did. TRMM also saw heavy rainfall around her eye and outer bands of thunderstorms, sometimes falling at a rate of 2 inches (50 millimeters) per hour.Now, all of that rainfall data from TRMM has been used to compile rainfall total maps, which are quite accurate.Hal Pierce, who works on the TRMM team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. said, "the TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at NASA Goddard monitors rainfall over the global tropics. We did an analysis of TMPA rainfall totals for the period from August 20 to 29, 2011 and Hurricane Irene was dropping tremendous amounts of rainfall over the eastern United States during a part of this period."Irene caused flooding from the Carolinas to the northeastern states. The heaviest rainfall totals of over 225 mm (~8.9 inches) were located in North Carolina where Irene first made landfall in the United States. Very heavy rainfall resulting in flooding was also evident in the TRMM rainfall map in northeastern states along the hurricane's track. Irene's flooding in Vermont was described as "epic" in proportion.In summary, Irene's extreme rainfall left the U.S. coast cleaning up this week. There were over five million homes and businesses still without power three or four days after Hurricane Irene passed. News reports indicate that 41 people died nationally. CNBC, the financial news channel said damage estimate from Irene are near 2 billion dollars.As Irene made landfall in New York City on Sunday, August 29 at 9 a.m. EDT and moved northward, it knocked out power and brought flooding rainfall there and throughout New England. Connecticut received about 8 inches of rain, flooding rivers and streams. As of August 30, 450,000 people were still without power.Irene's rains were relentless in Vermont. Vermont fared worse than other states along the east coast, and it was the worst hit the state has had from a hurricane. About a foot of rain fell in the entire state, destroying four to six of the iconic covered bridges, and washing out or damaging over 260 roads. The Governor proclaimed this is the worst flooding in the history of the state.As the U.S. east coast continues recovering from Hurricane Irene, a look at the rainfall totals from the TRMM satellite will serve as a reminder of the power a Category one hurricane or tropical storm can do.Rob Gutro/Hal Pierce/Jim Acker, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.An animation of satellite observations from August 21 through August 29 showing the birth of Hurricane Irene in the Caribbean and her track over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas, the U.S. East Coast and into Canada. At her strongest, Irene grew to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale and made landfalls in North Carolina, New Jersey and New York. The GOES-13 cloud images are overlaid on a true-color MODIS map. Storm data from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite.Hurricane Irene left a trail of devastation and heavy rainfall in its wake from the Caribbean to the U.S. east coast and is now a depression dumping heavy rains in eastern Canada before it heads into the Atlantic. Satellite imagery from NASA and NOAA continue to show the progression of Irene's remnants today and her massive size and the TRMM satellite gave insight into her weakening condition.From Puerto Rico to the Bahamas, and in the U.S. from North Carolina to Vermont Hurricane Irene was a huge rainmaker, dropping about 16 inches of rain in N.C., Va. and lesser (but large) amounts all the way up to Vermont, where the effect of Irene moving against the Green mountains brought the worst flooding seen there in 75 years.On Monday, August 29, Vermont's Governor Shumlin told the Weather Channel that as many as 250 Vermont roads were closed from flooding. It is the worst flooding in Vermont since 1927, according to CNN. New Hampshire dealt with the same issues also because of the White Mountains. Whenever a tropical storm or hurricane push up against higher terrain, such as mountains it creates what is called orographic uplift, where air is forced to rise against the mountains and creating more storms, bringing more rain.On Monday, August 29, 2011 at 5 a.m. EDT, tropical depression Irene were moving into Quebec and Newfoundland, Canada and causing major flooding in New Hampshire and Vermont. Irene's maximum sustained winds were around 35 mph (55 kmh). It was centered about 100 miles (165 km) northwest of Houlton, Maine near 47.4 North and 68.8 West. It was moving to the north-northeast near 25 mph (40 kmh) and had a minimum central pressure of 981 millibars. Flood warnings and high wind warnings remain in effect for parts of the northern Mid-Atlantic into New England as rivers continue to move floodwaters downstream.NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Irene's huge area of remnant clouds and rainfall over northern New England and eastern Canada today at 7:45 a.m. EDT. Her remnants were bringing gusty winds and heavy rainfall on parts of Quebec and in the Maritime provinces. Just as she did in the Caribbean and eastern U.S. Irene is causing a lot of downed trees and power outages. Montreal has reported thousands of outages according to Hydro-Québec.CBC News reported at 8 a.m. EDT today that Irene was centered about 34 miles (55 kilometers) south-southeast of Baie Comeau, Quebec. Irene is moving toward Labrador. Currently there are wind warnings in effect for Prince Edward Island and portions of Quebec. CBC reported that almost 2 inches (50 millimeters) of rain had fallen in southern New Brunswick by Sunday afternoon and there were over 50,000 residents without electricity there.On Saturday afternoon August 27, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite provided forecasters with clues that Irene's winds were about to weaken. TRMM, a satellite managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA flew over Hurricane Irene after it made landfall in North Carolina.According to Owen Kelley of the TRMM team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, TRMM provided multiple pieces of evidence that showed Irene was weakening at the time: The eye had filled, i.e., there was precipitation inside it; the eyewall contained no regions of heavy precipitation, that was there in earlier images; the eyewall precipitation reached less high in altitude on this overflight than in previous overflights (5.6 miles vs. 7.5 miles) (~9 km vs. ~12 km); and the only lightning observed by the TRMM LIS was in an outer rain band, over 300 kilometers (180 miles) away from the eye. The absence of lightning in the inner core of Hurricane Irene at landfall suggests that the fastest inner-core updrafts were not as vigorous as they had been on previous days.Below are rainfall totals from Irene's passage, as compiled by the National Hurricane Center.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.Rainfall Totals Compiled By NOAA'S National Hurricane Center Selected Storm Total Rainfall in Inches Through 5 Am Edt, August 29, 2011Rainfall was Irene's biggest issue, and NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission provided a look at heavy rains within the storm as it made its way from the North Carolina coast to a landfall in New York City at 9 a.m. EDT today, August 28, 2011.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite can measure rainfall from its orbit high above the earth and on Saturday August, 27, 2011 at 1:50 p.m. EDT it revealed several areas of heavy rainfall within Irene around her eye and in her outer bands. At that time Irene's center of circulation was still well defined and Irene was dropping intense rainfall over Cape Hatteras east of the hurricane's center. Irene brought those heavy rains from North Carolina north to New England on Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28.By 9 a.m. EDT, on Sunday August 28, the National Hurricane Center reported Irene's center made landfall in New York City as a tropical storm landfall with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The heavy rainfall and the storm surge inundated New York City's Battery Park. Meanwhile, the Weather Channel reported 3.1 million people along the U.S. east coast were without power as a result of Hurricane Irene's strong winds and heavy rains.NOAA's GOES-13 satellite, known as the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite has been providing infrared and visible images of Hurricane Irene before she was named last week. The NASA GOES Project out of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. created an image from GOES-13 at 8:32 a.m. EDT, just 28 minutes before Irene's landfall in New York City. The image showed Irene's huge cloud cover blanketing New England, New York and over Toronto, Canada. Shadows in Irene's clouds indicate the bands of thunderstorms that surround now tropical storm Irene.So how much rain did the U.S. east coast states receive on August 27?North Carolina impacts include widespread power outages, downed trees, downed power lines. Duck, N.C. reported widespread flooding. Eastern North Carolina received about a foot of rainfall, measuring between 10 to 14 inches in various locations. Cape Hatteras received a record-breaking 3.04 inches of rainfall on August 27. New Bern, N.C. received 4.49 inches of rainfall.In Norfolk, Va., ABC 13 News reports that the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was reopened at 7:00 a.m. today because winds had subsided. Another tunnel remained closed. The Virginia Dept. of Transportation was clearing water outside of the floodgates of the closed Midtown Tunnel.Rainfall was intense in some areas of eastern Virginia. Virginia's Hampton Roads area received about 9 inches of rainfall, with isolated totals reaching 16 inches in some areas. At Wallops Island, Va. on the eastern shore, where NASA's Wallops Island facility is located, a record-breaking 6.18 inches of rainfall was recorded and a wind gust hit 62 mph. Norfolk experienced heavy rainfall, gusty winds and flooding. A storm surge of 7.63 feet at Sewells Point was reported on Saturday night and local Television reporter WTKR's Kurt Williams reported chest-deep floodwaters at the time.At Dulles Airport, outside of Washington, D.C., 1.17 inches of rain fell on August 27 and the highest wind gust reported was 45 mph. Further south and west where the fringes of Irene reached, Charlottesville, Va. received only 0.44 inches of rainfall.The District of Columbia reported trees and powerlines down as Irene passed through. Washington National Airport recorded 3.33 inches of rain on August 27, 2011.In Maryland, widespread power outages and downed trees were reported. Historic downtown Annapolis did not flood as it did during Hurricane Isabel. The Baltimore Washington International Airport recorded 3.59 inches of rainfall from Irene on August 27 and strongest wind gust to 51 mph. The heaviest rain came to Maryland between 6 p.m. on August 27 and early on August 28. On Maryland's eastern shore, closest to the eye of Hurricane Irene, Salisbury, Md. reported a record breaking total of 5.58 inches. On the eastern shore, the popular vacation spot of Ocean City, Md. reported about 12 inches of rain, according to the Baltimore Sun. Sustained winds were near 60 miles per hour as Irene's center passed by Ocean City some 40-50 miles east.Delmarva Power, the power company that brings electricity to Maryland's eastern shore and Delaware noted early on Sunday, Aug. 28 that 93,500 customers were still without power. Delaware reported record-breaking rainfall totals on Saturday, August 27. Wilmington, Del. reported 5.38 inches. The highest wind gust reported reached 56 mph.Philadelphia International Airport logged 4.55 inches of rainfall on Aug. 27 and the highest winds recorded gusted to 52 mph.In New Jersey, Hurricane Irene's eye made landfall Little Egg Inlet, N.J., at 5:35 a.m. EDT this morning on its way to New York City. Trenton reported 3.91 inches of rain on Aug. 27, and Atlantic City reported 4.39 inches where winds gusted to 55 mph. More heavy rain continued to fall on Sunday, Aug. 28.In New York City (NYC) Irene's center made landfall around 9 a.m. EDT today. The National Weather Service noted that Battery Park New York City reported a total water level near 8.6 feet at 8 a.m. EDT, Sunday, August 28. John F. Kennedy International Airport logged a gust of wind at 58 mph. Watches and warnings are all in effect in New Jersey and New York and through New England.Because 2-5 inches of rain has fallen across the NY/NJ Region in the last 18 hours, the additional 2-6 inches of rain area expected is expected to cause more flooding. Highest rainfall amounts expected from the New York City Metro area north and west.New England, New York and Pennsylvania face the threat of flooding rains today as Irene continues her journey. Cities included under threat are Burlington, Vt.; Albany, N.Y.; New York City and Philadelphia, Pa. Hurricane Irene will continue to move inland, and head north-northeast on its way to Canada.Although Irene was grabbing all of the attention, another tropical storm developed this morning in the Atlantic but poses no threat. Tropical Storm Jose formed near Bermuda causing tropical storm warnings for the island. At 8 a.m. EDT, Jose had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph and was moving to the north near 16 mph, a track he is expected to stay on, keeping him away from the U.S. east coast. Jose was located about 115 miles south-southwest of Bermuda near 30.8 North and 65.7 West. Although Bermuda residents are in for another soaking from Jose, the U.S. east coast will not feel Jose's effects as he'll remain at sea.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.After pounding North Carolina and Virginia on Aug. 27, Hurricane Irene made a second landfall near Little Egg Inlet, N.J., early Sunday morning, Aug. 28, still as a category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kilometers per hour). It then weakened slightly before making a third landfall over Coney Island, N.Y. as a 65-mph (100-kilometer-per-hour) tropical storm. Irene's heavy rains, winds and storm surge are causing widespread problems throughout the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast.This infrared image of Irene was taken by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft at 2:47 a.m. EDT on Aug. 28, a few hours before the storm's second landfall in New Jersey.The AIRS data create an accurate 3-D map of atmospheric temperature, water vapor and clouds, data that are useful to forecasters. The image shows the temperature of Irene's cloud tops or the surface of Earth in cloud-free regions. The coldest cloud-top temperatures appear in purple, indicating towering cold clouds and heavy precipitation. The infrared signal of AIRS does not penetrate through clouds. Where there are no clouds, AIRS reads the infrared signal from the surface of the ocean waters, revealing warmer temperatures in orange and red.AIRS is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.More information about AIRS can be found at http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov . More on NASA's hurricane research and Irene is online at NASA's hurricanes/tropical cyclones website: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/main/index.html and the JPL TC-IDEAS hurricane website: http://hurricanes.jpl.nasa.gov Alan Buis, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.Hurricane Irene made landfall early Saturday morning, Aug. 27, just west of Cape Lookout, NC, as a category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (75 knots). It is currently over eastern North Carolina and is forecast to gradually weaken as it moves northward along the East Coast of the United States over the next two days.This satellite image of Hurricane Irene, showing the storm's ocean-surface wind speed and direction, was acquired at 1:07 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27, approximately six hours before it hit the North Carolina coast. The data are provided courtesy of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the OSCAT instrument on ISRO's OceanSat 2 spacecraft, launched in September 2009. Wind vector data processing was performed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The OSCAT winds are obtained at 15-by-15-mile (25-by-25-kilometer) resolution and do not resolve the hurricane's maximum wind speeds, which occur at much finer scales.Since NASA's QuikScat ocean wind satellite ceased nominal operations in November 2009, scientists and engineers from NASA, JPL, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have collaborated with ISRO in ongoing efforts to calibrate and validate OSCAT measurements in order to ensure continuous coverage of ocean vector winds for use by the global weather forecasting and climate community.More on NASA's hurricane research and Irene is online at NASA's hurricanes/tropical cyclones website: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/main/index.html and the JPL TC-IDEAS hurricane website: http://hurricanes.jpl.nasa.gov Alan Buis, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.NASA's Terra spacecraft passed over Hurricane Irene while it was just north of the Bahamas on Aug. 25, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. EDT. At the time, Irene was a category three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph (185 kph), and a minimum central pressure of 951 hPa, according to NOAA's National Hurricane Center. The storm made landfall in North Carolina on the morning of Aug. 27 as a category one hurricane.This set of images, acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on Terra on Aug. 25, highlights geophysical parameters important to scientists studying these storms.MISR uses nine cameras to capture images of the hurricane from different angles. The leftmost image is taken from an angle of 46 degrees. The storm is visible to the north of Cuba, which is located in the lower left of the image. Irene's eye is covered with clouds. Strong storms in the eyewall and the outer rain bands appear as bright, textured regions.The multiple angles of MISR's cameras provide a stereographic view of Hurricane Irene. This information can be used to determine the height of the storm's cloud tops. As shown in the center image, these heights exceed 11 miles (18 kilometers) in the center of the storm, and in the outer rain bands, where the vertical motion is strongest. Lower clouds, at an altitude of about 5 miles (8 kilometers), are visible along the storm's northern edge.The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument also flies on Terra and measures cloud top temperatures. Higher clouds are colder, and the highest clouds in Hurricane Irene on Aug. 25 had temperatures less than minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 73 degrees Celsius).While there is good correspondence between the MISR cloud top heights and the MODIS cloud top temperatures, these two observations provide different insights into the behavior of clouds near the core of the storm. Researchers are studying how the two measurements can be used in combination to estimate hurricane intensity.These images cover more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) in the north-south direction, and are centered near 27 degrees North latitude, 75.5 degrees West longitude.MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Terra spacecraft is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The MISR data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center, Hampton, Va. The MODIS data were obtained from the Goddard Space Flight Center Level 1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.Alan Buis, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.From 22,300 miles in space, Hurricane Irene looks serene and impressive. That's how NOAA's GOES satellite sees Irene today as it batters the eastern U.S. coastline, but it's quite a different story on the ground.Irene made landfall in Cape Lookout, North Carolina at 8 a.m. EDT as a Category one hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 85 mph. The storm surge and rough waves it brought have been severely battering the coast. The GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Irene after landfall at 8 a.m. in Cape Lookout, North Carolina on August 25, 2011 at 10:10 a.m. EDT. At that time Irene's outer bands had already extended into New England.In an animation created at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project, GOES-13 satellite imagery taken in 15 minute intervals from August 25 to August 27 at 9:40 a.m. EDT shows Hurricane Irene's massive reach. The animation shows Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas and making landfall at Cape Lookout, North Carolina at around 8 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27.Winds, waves and water are the three threatening factors in a hurricane, and Irene has all three.At 11 a.m. EDT, August 27, reporters from the Weather Channel were reporting sustained winds on the beach of Nags Head, N.C. near 60-65 mph as Irene continued battering eastern North Carolina and tropical storm conditions were spreading into the Delmarva (Delaware/Maryland/Virginia) coast. At that time, the first rainfall from Irene's outer bands reached the Washington, D.C. area bringing brief moderate to heavy rainfall.Two tornadoes had been reported in Virginia Beach, Va. by the Weather Channel during the morning hours today (Aug. 27) and another tornado warning was in effect. Wind gusts were reported as high as 50 mph in Virginia Beach, while Irene's strongest winds still lay to the south-southwest of there.So, if Irene's rains were already affecting Washington, D.C., where was Irene's center at 11 a.m. EDT? It was about 50 miles (80 km) west of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Cape Hatteras is 328 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. That's quite a reach!Irene is expected to produce rainfall accumulations of 6 to 10 inches, and isolated amounts over a foot (to 15 inches) from eastern North Carolina northward through the Mid-Atlantic states into eastern New York and interior New England. The Pamlico River in eastern North Carolina was reported to be at the top of its levee, and flooding is becoming widespread.Irene's maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph and she was moving to the north-northeast near 15 mph. At Cape Hatteras, N.C. a wind gust to 87 mph was reported, while further north at Norfolk Naval Air Station reported a wind gust to 63 mph.NASA satellites have noticed Hurricane Irene grow over the week, from 200 miles to over 600 miles in diameter. By 11 a.m. EDT on Aug. 27, Irene's tropical-storm-force winds extend outward 260 miles making the extent 520 miles in diameter. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles or 180 miles in diameter.The National Hurricane Center expects tropical-storm-force winds to spread northward along the Mid-Atlantic coast today with hurricane conditions expected in afternoon. Tropical storm conditions are expected to reach southern New England late this evening with hurricane conditions expected by Sunday morning.Dangerous, large and destructive waves are expected in coastal areas. Storm surges near the North Carolina/Virginia border are expected to raise water levels by 4 to 8 feet above ground level in the hurricane warning area, northward to Cape Cod and southern portions of the Chesapeake Bay.Irene is now forecast by the National Hurricane Center to take a more inland track and maintain hurricane force near coastal New York, western Connecticut and western and central Massachusetts.For forecasts, visit NOAA's National Hurricane Center website at: www.nhc.noaa.gov . For more updates from NASA visit www.nasa.gov/hurricane , also onandRob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite radar saw the inner core of Hurricane Irene for a fourth time on Friday afternoon, August 25. On Friday afternoon, the TRMM radar showed that the southern half of the eyewall was gone. Some strong precipitation did still exist in the remaining eyewall to the north of the eye. The weakening of the inner-core precipitation structure that we see as Irene approaches North Carolina is similar to the pre-landfall weakening of the inner-core of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the most recent hurricane to make landfall in North Carolina's Outer Banks.The lack of a compact symmetric eyewall suggests that there is relatively little chance of intensification at the time of the satellite overflight. TRMM showed that the highest towering thunderstorms were about 7.5 miles high (12 kilometers).While Hurricane Irene is forecast to pass along the East Coast all of the way to New England and then into Canada, the Friday afternoon overflight may be the last well-centered TRMM radar overflight because the orbit of the TRMM satellite stays within 35 degrees of latitude from the Equator. For satellite radar images north of 35 degrees, we will have to wait for the scheduled-2013 launch of the core satellite of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The GPM core satellite will carry a dual-frequency radar as well as an enhanced passive-microwave instrument.Just before 8 a.m. EDT, on Saturday, August 27, Hurricane Irene made landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina and was located near 34.7 North and 76.5 West. Irene's maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph and it was moving to the north-northeast near 14 mph. Minimum central pressure near 952 millibars. Irene's hurricane-force winds extend 90 miles from the center or 180 miles in diameter. Tropical-storm force winds extend out 260 miles from the center, making Irene about 520 miles in diameter.Tropical-storm force winds are expected to spread northward along the mid-Atlantic coast later this morning with hurricane conditions expected this afternoon.TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and JAXA, the Japan Space Exploration Agency. The TRMM radar data was processed in near-realtime by NASA Goddard's Precipitation Processing System. The TRMM lightning data was processed in near-realtime by NASA Marshall's Global Hydrology Resource Center.Owen Kelley, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.Large and powerful Hurricane Irene is poised to become the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Ike in 2008. As of Friday afternoon, Aug. 26, Irene was a category two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph (160 kilometers per hour). An initial landfall is predicted in eastern North Carolina on Aug. 27. Beyond that, the storm is expected to skirt the coastline of the eastern United States. A second landfall is expected in New England on Aug. 28. At that time, the storm is expected to be weaker but still dangerous.The public is invited to follow Irene's progress and learn more about the storm and NASA's hurricane research online. Satellite images of Irene from a variety of sources are being displayed on NASA's TC-IDEAS website at http://hurricanes.jpl.nasa.gov . The website is a near-real-time tropical cyclone data resource developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to support last summer's NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) hurricane field campaign. Users should note that some of the data links developed to support last year's airborne field campaign are not currently active.In collaboration with other institutions, the website integrates data from satellites, models and direct measurements from many sources to help researchers quickly locate information about current and recent oceanic and atmospheric conditions. The composite images and data are updated every hour and are displayed using a Google Earth plug-in. With a few mouse clicks, users can manipulate data and overlay multiple data sets to provide insights on storms that aren't possible by looking at single data sets alone. The data can be animated and downloaded on demand.TC-IDEAS is a component of JPL's Tropical Cyclone Information System (TCIS) website, located at: http://tropicalcyclone.jpl.nasa.gov/hurricane/ . Researchers can use the TCIS to better understand hurricane processes, improve hurricane models and plan future satellite missions.More on NASA's hurricane research and Irene is online at NASA's hurricanes/tropical cyclones website: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hurricanes/main/index.html Alan Buis, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.Hurricane Irene was spreading her clouds over the southeastern U.S. on Friday, August 26, and NASA satellites were flying overhead gathering data. Coastal evacuations were already happening in New York City, coastal New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North and South Carolina.NASA satellites gathered rainfall measurements and saw heavy rain and hot towering thunderstorms around Irene's center signaling the power behind her. Even on August 25, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite saw rainfall in intense bands of thunderstorms around her eye, that were dropping rainfall at 2 inches (50 mm) per hour.NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Hurricane Irene from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on August 26 at 12:30 p.m. EDT, when Hurricane Irene was off the Carolinas. Although no eye was visible, Irene was still a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale and it was still at that intensity at 3:10 p.m. EDT.NOAA's GOES-13 satellite provided a much broader view of Hurricane Irene against the entire U.S. east coast on August 26, 2011 at 1:40 p.m. EDT. The extent of Irene's 600 mile wide cloud cover was obvious as it stretched over a third of the U.S. east coast.Residents along the eastern U.S. coast are facing hurricane-force winds and inland areas are facing tropical storm-force winds. At 2 p.m. EDT on August 26, tropical storm force winds have already arrived along the coast of the Carolinas. Hurricane Irene's center was located about 300 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, near 31.2 North and 77.5 West. Its maximum sustained winds were near 100 mph and it was moving to the north near 14 mph. Minimum central pressure was 951 millibars.Residents along the east coast need to heed watches and warnings and evacuations. Rainfall is a serious issue with Irene as she is expected to drop 6 to 10 inches with isolated amounts of 15 inches from eastern North Carolina into southeastern Virginia, eastern Maryland, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southeastern New York, Long Island, Western Connecticut, and western Massachusetts through Monday morning.The NHC said that dangerous storm surge levels as much as 11 feet are possible in the warning area in North Carolina, and up to 8 feet in southern portions of the Chesapeake Bay. The New Jersey shore can expect surges up to 6 feet above ground level.Updated forecasts available through the NHC at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ . Follow updates through the weekend from NASA Hurricane onandand at www.nasa.gov/hurricane Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Satellite known as TRMM has the ability to measure rainfall from space, and can also provide scientists with cloud heights, eyewall and lightning information. These images and captions of Hurricane Irene were provided by NASA hurricane scientist, Owen Kelley at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.In general, lightning in the inner core suggests the presence of strong updrafts and large ice particles. By implication, lightning suggests that convective cells are pumping a lot of latent heat energy into the tropical cyclone's central vortex, which is favorable for intensification. Hurricane eyewalls often are devoid of lightning, as is the case for Irene on 8/23. But cat-3 Irene (on 8/24) did have lightning flashes in the eyewall, and there were many flashes during Irene's tropical storm phase (on 8/21).Three times this week (week of August 21, 2011) , the radar on the TRMM satellite has observed the three-dimensional structure of the rainfall regions under the cloud-tops of Hurricane Irene. At the same time, TRMM also observed Irene with passive microwave, infrared, and lightning instruments. In this image, the passive microwave estimates of surface rainfall are for all three overflights.On Sunday, August 21, 2011, Irene was only a tropical storm, and the TRMM Precipitation Radar reveals that it had an impressive hot tower that reached over 9.5 miles high (15.75 km). Strong radar signals, perhaps from large ice particles are shown in red at the base of the hot towers, which suggests strong updrafts were present in order for the ice particles to have time to grow large. Strong rain had yet to completely encircle the eye, as is typical of tropical storms.On Tuesday evening, August 23, 2011 Irene was a category 1 hurricane, in the process of intensifying to category 3 in less than 12 hours.Consistent with intensification, the TRMM radar showed that Irene had a complete eyewall circling its eye along with a region of intense convection on the eastern side of the eyewall (right side of image). Some studies suggest that bursts of convection in one portion of a hurricane's eyewall may help to pump latent heat into a hurricane and thereby assist with intensification.On Wednesday afternoon, Irene had reached the status of a "major" hurricane, at category 3 strength. The observations of the TRMM radar show a compact eyewall, with the possibility that an outer eyewall is forming. Double eyewalls can be part of an eyewall replacement cycle associated with changes in hurricane intensity, either increases or decreases that are difficult to predict.Owen Kelley, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.Infrared satellite imagery provides forecasters with the location of the highest, strongest thunderstorms that make up Hurricane Irene, and there is a large area of them.An infrared image from NASA's Aqua satellite's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on August 26 at 2:59 a.m. EDT (06:59 UTC) shows Hurricane Irene right off the Florida, Georgia and South Carolina coasts. The infrared data showed highest, coldest thunderstorm cloud tops in two areas. There is a very large area of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation and also in a large band of on the northeastern quadrant. Cloud top temperatures are colder than -63 Fahrenheit (-52 Celsius) in those areas, indicating strong thunderstorms and heavy rainmakers.At 8 a.m. EDT this morning Hurricane Irene was centered 375 miles south-southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, near 30.0 North and 77.3 West. Irene moved 0.1 degree to the west in the last 3 hours. Maximum sustained winds were near 110 mph, and Irene is moving north at 14 mph. Minimum central pressure is 945 millibars.Radar from Wilmington, North Carolina at 9 a.m. EDT shows the outer bands of Hurricane Irene just off the southeastern North Carolina coast and moving toward the shorelines.The National Hurricane Center notes that some re-intensification is possible today and Irene is expected to be near the threshold between category two and three as it reaches the North Carolina coast.Irene has continued to grow over the last week. Irene is now almost 600 miles wide. Tropical storm force winds extend 290 miles from the center. Hurricane force winds extend to 90 miles from the center or 180 miles in diameter.There are hurricane warnings up and down the U.S. East coast, from South Carolina to New York. Coastal areas are under hurricane watches and warnings and interior areas tend to be under Tropical Storm Warnings and watches.The National Hurricane Center (NHC) notes that "a tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours. A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. A watch is typically issued 48 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds...conditions that make outside preparations difficult or dangerous."Rainfall is a serious issue with Irene as she is expected to generate rainfall accumulations of 6 to 10 inches with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches from Eastern North Carolina into Southeastern Virgina, eastern Maryland, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southeastern New York, Long Island, Western Connecticut, and western Massachusetts through Monday morning.The NHC said that dangerous storm surge levels as much as 11 feet are possible in the warning area in North Carolina, and up to 8 feet in southern portions of the Chesapeake Bay. The New Jersey shore can expect surges up to 6 feet above ground level. Updated forecasts available through the NHC at www.nhc.noaa.gov Follow updates from NASA Hurricane on facebook and twitter and at www.nhc.noaa.gov www.nasa.gov/hurricane.Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.Hurricane Irene is a major hurricane, and NASA satellite data shows its diameter is now about one-third the length of the U.S. Atlantic coastline. Meanwhile, far in the eastern Atlantic Ocean a tenth tropical depression formed. One satellite image captured both storms and shows the tremendous difference in their size.NOAA's GOES-13 satellite saw Hurricane Irene moving through the Bahamas on August 25, 2011 at 10:02 a.m. EDT and far to the east off the African coast was newly born Tropical Depression 10. The GOES-13 image shows Irene to be almost one third of the size of the U.S. east coast. The distance from Augusta, Maine to Miami, Florida is 1662.55 miles. Hurricane Irene's tropical storm-force winds extend 255 miles from the center making Irene 510 miles in diameter, almost one-third the size of the U.S. Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from the center, or 140 miles in diameter.GOES-13 images and animations are created at NASA's GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.NASA satellites are providing valuable data to forecasters to assist them in the forecasts for Irene's track and power. As of this morning, a Hurricane Watch is now in effect for the coastal U.S.On Thursday morning, August 24, a hurricane warning is in effect for the central and northwestern Bahamas. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has also issued the first watch for the U.S. east coast. A hurricane watch is in effect for north of Surf City, North Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia border including the Pamlico, Albemarle, and Currituck Sounds. A tropical storm watch is in effect for north of Edisto Beach, South Carolina to Surf City North Carolina.NASA satellites are flying above Hurricane Irene, providing forecasters at NHC with temperature, pressure, wind, and cloud and sea surface temperature data. All of those things are critical in helping forecasters determine how Irene will behave and track.The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible image of Hurricane Irene's eye directly over Crooked Island in the southern Bahamas on August 24, 2011 at 18:15 UTC (2:15 p.m. EDT).By 11 a.m. EDT on August 25, Irene had moved north and was 75 miles (105 km) east-northeast of Nassau near 25.9 North latitude and 76.8 West longitude. Irene's winds dropped slightly from 120 mph (195 kmh) to 115 mph (kmh) and it was moving to the north-northwest near 13 mph (20 kmh). The NHC, however, noted that some further strengthening is possible today and tonight.Irene's minimum central pressure has fallen from 954 to 951 millibars since the day before, indicating the storm is still intensifying despite the slight temporary drop in maximum sustained winds.Hurricane-force wind gusts were already reaching Nassau at 8 a.m. EDT. Hurricane force winds are spreading over the northwestern Bahamas this morning and the central Bahamas are still being battered by hurricane or tropical storm force winds, which will diminish later today as Irene moves away.Residents in South Florida are also under warnings for dangerous rip currents and high surf along the eastern shores through Friday, August 26. A tropical storm warning in effect for the offshore marine waters of Palm Beach County, Florida beyond 20 nautical miles, and at 5:30 a.m. EDT this morning, rainbands spreading west over the adjacent Atlantic waters. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected along the south Florida coast today and tonight.Far in the eastern Atlantic, Tropical Depression 10 formed about 435 miles (700 km) west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands. It was centered near 12.4 North and 30.4 West, and moving to the west-northwest near 13 mph (20 kmh). Tropical Depression 10 (TD10) has maximum sustained winds near 35 mph (55 kmh) and may become a tropical storm in the next day or two. It is not expected to be a threat to the U.S. and is expected to remain at sea.In the meantime, evacuation plans are already under way in North Carolina for the massive Hurricane Irene.Updates on Irene's strength and forecast track can be found at the National Hurricane Center's website: www.nhc.noaa.gov . Follow NASA's Hurricane coverage on Facebook and Twitter and at the NASA Hurricane Web page: www.nasa.gov/hurricane Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.NASA's TRMM satellite identified large areas of heavy rainfall within Hurricane Irene affecting the Bahamas, and helped forecasters identify its "hidden" eye. Over the days of August 23 and 24, 2011, NASA's TRMM satellite provided key information on rainfall rates, hot towering clouds that act as hurricane heat engines, and cloud heights.After becoming a minimal hurricane while passing over Puerto Rico, Irene re-emerged over the warm, open waters of the western Atlantic northwest of the Dominican Republic on the morning of August 22nd. Irene quickly showed signs of intensifying as deep convective towers arose near the center of Irene, releasing heat into core of the system. In response, the central pressure fell and the winds intensified, making Irene a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale with sustained winds reported at 85 knots (~100 mph) by the National Hurricane Center by the end of the day. Irene remained at Category 2 intensity most of the following day as it brushed the northern coast of Hispaniola heading west-northwest in the direction the Turks and Caicos Islands. Late in the afternoon on the 23rd, Irene weakened slightly after ingesting some drier air into its circulation. But the effect was short lived as new convective towers signaled that Irene was again ready to re-intensify.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (or TRMM) satellite passed directly over Irene late in the day on the 23rd and captured these two images as the storm was bearing down on parts of the Caicos Islands. Images were taken at 23:11 UTC (7:11 p.m. EDT) on August 23, 2011.One image shows a top-down view of the rain intensities within Irene. TRMM revealed that although Irene does not have a visible eye, deep down under the cloud tops there is an eye surrounded by a complete eyewall of varying rain intensities as evidenced by the complete circle in the rain field at the center of the image.Creating the image is complicated. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the higher resolution TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rainrates are overlaid on visible and infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS).The image also showed that the northeast corner of the eyewall contains an area of intense rain (2 inches/50 mm per hour) and the southern portion only light rain with mostly moderate rain in between. The storm is still fairly asymmetrical, however, with most of the surrounding rain northeast of the center.Another image taken at the same time shows a 3D view of Irene that shows "hot tower" clouds. The tops of these deep convection towers have precipitation-sized particles that are being carried higher into the atmosphere by strong thunderstorms. These storms within a storm can intensify tropical cyclones and hurricanes by releasing large amounts of heat, known as latent heat, via condensation. This heat can intensify the hurricane's circulation especially when released near its core.TRMM showed several towers both near the center and in the outer rainbands with tops near 15 km (brighter red areas). These areas are associated with the areas of intense rain seen in the previous image. Also, evident at this time is an area of shallow tops (in blue) near to the center where the drier air had worked its way into the storm.At the time of these images, Irene was a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 80 knots (~90 mph). However, the central pressures were already beginning to fall and Irene re-intensified into a Category 2 storm just over 6 hours later.Irene continued to strengthen overnight and by 8 a.m. EDT the next morning on the 24th, it had become a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of 100 knots (~115 mph).TRMM next passed over Irene at 15:42 UTC (11:42 a.m. EDT) on the 24th as she was passing directly over Crooked Island in the southeast Bahamas. Although the eye is somewhat obscured by the island, Irene did have a visible eye before passing over the island. Unlike the previous day's TRMM image, the rainbands surrounding the center were now very tightly wound and are more evenly distributed about the center. These are characteristic of a larger, much more intense circulation as any rain features are quickly smeared around in a circle around the center by the stronger winds.Another 3-D view of Irene was captured on August 24 the storm, revealed once again the presence of a deep convective tower within the eyewall. At the time of these last two images, Irene's maximum sustained winds were still 100 knots (~115 mph), but the storm's central pressures were continuing to fall, an indication the storm was in the process of intensifying. Just over two hours later, Irene's maximum sustained winds had risen to 120 mph. Irene is expected to pass through the central Bahamas and could become a Category 4 storm before threatening the US East Coast.TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.Steve Lang, SSAI/ NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.When a satellite can see a hurricane's eye clearly from space, that's an indication of a strong tropical cyclone and the GOES-13 satellite saw just that in Hurricane Irene this morning as she became a major hurricane. An animation of GOES-13 satellite imagery released from NASA today shows Irene's transition into a powerhouse and pinpointed when her eye became visible from space.Hurricane Irene reached Category 3 status this morning, the threshold for a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale that measures hurricane intensity.The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 provides continuous visible and infrared imagery of the eastern U.S. and Atlantic Ocean basin from its position in space. GOES satellites are operated by NOAA, and the NASA GOES Project located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. creates images and compiled them into the video of the storm as it developed from June 27 to June 28.The animation includes sped up infrared and visible frames of data from the GOES-13 satellite and is squeezed down to 36 seconds. The movie shows satellite imagery that was captured in 15 minute intervals from August 22 at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 UTC) until August 24 at 8:40 a.m. EDT shows Irene moving over Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and toward the southeastern Bahamas. Irene's eye becomes visible on August 24 at 0055 UTC (Aug. 23 at 8:55 p.m. EDT).Irene became a major hurricane at 8 a.m. EDT today, August 24, 2011 as it headed toward the Crooked and Acklins Islands in the Bahamas. Irene's maximum sustained winds had increased to 115 mph (186 kmh) making Category three status. Additional strengthening is forecast by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Category three hurricanes can cause "devastating damage" according to the NHC's webpage: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/sshws.shtml Irene is located about 55 miles southeast of Acklins Island, Bahamas, near 21.9 North and 73.3 West. It was moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph (15 kmh) and had a minimum central pressure near 957 millibars.A hurricane warning is in effect for the southeastern, central and northwestern Bahamas, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands. An unofficial reporting station at Pine Cay, located in the Caicos Islands reported a wind gust to 65 mph (105 kmh) earlier today.Rainfall amount across Hispaniola and Puerto Rico will be between 1 and 3 inches as Irene pushes away. However, isolated maximum storm total amounts of 15 inches are possible with flash floods and mud slides in areas of steep terrain. In the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos islands high rainfall totals are forecast by NHC of between 6 to 12 inches are expected.The NHC warns that "an extremely dangerous storm surge will raise water levels by as much as 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels over the central and northwestern Bahamas and by as much as 5 to 8 feet above normal tide levels over the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos islands."Hurricane Irene is a large storm that has continued to grow over the last several days as it has strengthened. Tropical storm-force winds extend out to 205 miles from its center, making Irene about 410 miles in diameter! Hurricane force-winds extend out to 40 miles, or 80 miles in diameter.The NHC's current forecast track for Hurricane Irene takes the storm to a landfall in eastern North Carolina as a major hurricane on Saturday, August 27. The NASA GOES Project will continue to provide imagery and animations from the GOES-13 satellite daily as Irene nears the U.S.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.NASA satellites have been gathering data on Hurricane Irene as she heads the Bahamas today and tomorrow and observed that she is a large hurricane.Irene's hurricane force winds extend outward up to 50 miles (85 km) from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km). That means that Irene is about 410 miles in diameter. That's just shy of the distance from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Mass.NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of Hurricane Irene when the storm's center had passed Puerto Rico at 15:20 UTC (11:20 a.m. EDT) on August 22, 2011. The southern quadrant of Irene's clouds were still over the island bringing heavy rainfall. There is no eye visible in the image.The next day, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 saw Hurricane Irene approaching the Bahamas on August 23, 2011 at 1932 UTC (3:32 p.m. EDT). No eye was visible in the image, but the extent of Irene's large cloud cover is seen from eastern Cuba over Hispaniola. NOAA operates the GOES satellites, and the NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. creates images and animations using that satellite data.At 2 p.m. EDT on August 23, the center of large Hurricane Irene was 55 miles south of Grand Turk Island. That means that the island was on the fringes of hurricane-force winds as Irene continues to move west-northwest at 10 mph (17 kmh). Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph (160 kmh). Irene is located near 20.7 North and 71.2 West. Minimum central pressure was near 977 millibars.The Watches and Warnings cover a number of islands. On the forecast track the center of Irene will move near or over the Turks and Caicos Islands this evening and near or over the southeastern and central Bahamas tonight and Wednesday. Irene is expected to be near or over the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday.The National Hurricane Center noted that "Irene could become a major hurricane by Wednesday."Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite has been busy measuring rainfall within Hurricane Irene, and forecasts call for between 5 and 10 inches in the southeastern and central Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands as Irene moves toward them today.It's been a busy season so far in terms of tropical storms with seven named storms already in the Atlantic basin; however, none of them have had a very large impact as they have either been small, short-lived or remained at sea and none of them have intensified into a hurricane until now.Irene, which originated from a tropical wave that propagated off the west coast of Africa, became the 8th named storm of the season as it approached the Lesser Antilles on the 20th of August and the first hurricane of the season as it was passing over Puerto Rico on the morning of the 22nd. Now back over open water, Irene is poised to pass close to the northern coast of Hispaniola and poses a threat to the Bahamas.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (or TRMM) satellite passed directly over Irene as it was leaving Puerto Rico and captured these unique images of the storm as it moving westward near the Dominican Republic. The images were taken at 15:57 UTC (11:57 AM EDT) on 22 August 2011. One image from TRMM data shows a top-down view of the rain intensity within the storm.Creating the rain rate image is complicated and involves data from three instruments on TRMM. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rainrates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS).TRMM reveals that although a hurricane, Irene has not yet developed an eye and is not yet fully organized. The center of the storm was located just to the southwest of an area of heavy rain (as much as 2 inches/50 mm per hour) about midway between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Rainbands, containing light to moderate rain curved around the storm mainly to the north and east of the center, revealing the presence of the storm's low pressure circulation, but one that is not yet intense.The TRMM team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. also created a 3-D perspective of the storm. It revealed an area of deep convection near the storm's center where precipitation-sized particles are being carried aloft. These tall towers are associated with strong thunderstorms responsible for the area of intense rain near the center of Irene seen in the previous image. They can be a precursor to strengthening as they indicate areas within a storm where vast amounts of heat are being released. This heating, known as latent heating, is what is drives a storm's circulation and intensification.At the time these images were taken, Irene was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds reported at 70 knots (~80 mph) by the National Hurricane Center.At 8 a.m. EDT on August 23, Irene strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane. Irene's center was headed toward the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. Irene's maximum sustained winds were near 100 mph (160 kmh). It was located near 20.6 North and 70.6 West, about 70 miles south-southeast of Grand Turk Island and moving to the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 kmh). Minimum central pressure is 978 millibars. Various hurricane and tropical storm warnings and watches are in effect and can be found at The National Hurricane Center's website: www.nhc.noaa.gov The rainfall rates seen by the TRMM satellite are reflected in the rainfall forecast totals by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) today. The NHC expects another 1 to 3 inches across Puerto Rico, 3 to 6 inches over northern Hispaniola and isolated amounts as high as 10 inches in higher terrain. The southeastern and central Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands can expect 5 to 10 inches of rainfall as Irene moves toward them today.Irene is expected to be over the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight and near the central Bahamas early tomorrow. Irene is expected to intensify and is expected to become a major hurricane and residents along the U.S. east coast are keeping close watch.TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.Before Irene even reached hurricane status, a NASA satellite saw heavy rainfall and hot towering thunderstorm clouds around the storm's center this weekend. That heavy rainfall is expected as Irene continues to track through the Caribbean today.The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Irene when it was a tropical storm on August 21, 2011 at 0024 UTC (8:24 p.m. EDT August 20). Data collected with this orbit showed that Irene contained numerous powerful thunderstorms with TRMM's Precipitation Radar revealing that some thunderstorm towers near the center of the storm were reaching to heights above 15 km (~9.3 miles).Those "hot towers" are called "hot" because they rise to such altitude due to the large amount of latent heat. Water vapor releases this latent heat as it condenses into liquid.Back in 2004, researchers Owen Kelley and John Stout of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., found that a tropical cyclone with a hot tower in its eyewall was twice as likely to intensify within the next six hours than a cyclone that lacked a tower. Irene had those hot towers and did intensify into a hurricane.The National Hurricane Center noted on August 22 that Irene is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches across Puerto Rico, The Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Southeastern Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands. Isolated maximum amounts of rainfall may reach up to 20 inches.In addition to the TRMM satellite, NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-13 has documented the birth of Irene from a low pressure area called System 99L over the weekend. The NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. compiled four days of animations to show the development and movement of Hurricane Irene and former Tropical Storm Harvey.A GOES-13 animation from August 19 through August 22 (1545 UTC/11: 45 a.m. EDT) shows the progression of Tropical Storm Harvey through the western Caribbean Sea. Over the weekend, Harvey made landfall in Belize and is moving into Mexico today. Farther to the east, the animation shows the development of the low pressure area called System 99L into Hurricane Irene on August 20 that moved over Puerto Rico and is now moving west-northwest into the eastern Caribbean today. Irene's maximum sustained winds on the morning of August 22 were near 75 mph. The 35 second video shows more than three days of development and movement of Harvey and Irene.The National Hurricane Center has posted a whole host of hurricane warnings and watches today. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for the North Coast of the Dominican Republic from the Haiti border east to Cabo Engano. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the north coast of Haiti from Le Mole St. Nicholas eastward to the Dominican Republic border and the central Bahamas. Tropical storm conditions will reach the northern portion of the Dominican Republic by this afternoon.A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for the U.S. Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the south coast of the Dominican Republic, all of Haiti and the southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The warning has been changed from hurricane to tropical storm warning for Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra as Irene is moving away.At 9 a.m. EDT, August 22, Irene was moving away from Puerto Rico and toward the Southeastern Bahamas. Irene's maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kmh) and it was moving to the west-northwest near 14 mph (22 kmh). Irene's center was about 55 miles (90 km) west-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico near 18.8 North and 66.8 West. Irene's minimum central pressure was 987 millibars.Irene is forecast to reach Florida later this week and if it makes landfall as a hurricane, it would be the first landfalling hurricane in the mainland U.S. in three years. The last landfalling U.S. storm was Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas in 2008.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.System 98L exploded into Tropical Storm Irene on Saturday, August 20 at 7 p.m. EDT east of the Leeward Islands. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Harvey made landfall in Belize.On Sunday, August 21, a satellite image from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 showed Tropical Storm Irene's clouds over Puerto Rico. Maximum sustained winds were near 50 mph and Irene is expected to be a hurricane on Monday, August 22, but is forecast to weakening after its center moves over Dominican Republic. Watches and Warnings were posted on Sunday, August 21 and continue through the eastern Caribbean. Current forecasts suggest Irene will again reach hurricane status before making landfall in southern Florida later this week.On Sunday, August 21 at 8 p.m. EDT, Tropical Depression Harvey was over the Bay of Campeche and was expected to re-strengthen into a tropical storm. It was located 50 miles northeast of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. A GOES-13 satellite image captured at 6 p.m. EDT pm August 21 showed Harvey's cloud cover as a circular area. Maximum sustained winds were near 30 mph, and Harvey was moving to the west-northwest near 14 mph. Tropical storm warning is in effect for the coast of southern Mexico from Punta El Lagarto To Barra De Nautia. Harvey's rainfall forecast ranges from 2 to 4 inches and isolated amounts to 10 inches. Tropical storm-force winds expected to reach the coast of southern Mexico with the warning area Monday morning.Rob Gutro, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Md.