As more than 200 bushfires continue to ravage much of southeastern Australia, the season’s first cyclone threatens the country’s northwestern coast. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Blake spinning over the Indian Ocean just north of Broome, a coastal town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia on January 6, 2020.

At 2100 UTC (4:00 p.m. EST) on January 6, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Tropical Cyclone Blake was located about 26.5 miles (43 km) west of Broome and carried maximum sustained winds of about 57.5 mph (92.5 km/h). The storm was moving south-southwest at 5.8 mph (9.3 km/h). The track of the storm brings it to a landfall east of Port Hedland. Tropical Cyclone Blake is anticipated to dissipate on January 8 as it moves inland. While the storm system carries potential for copious rainfall, the location of rain will not bring relief to the bushfires in New South Wales or Victoria.

Image Facts

Satellite: Aqua

Date Acquired: 1/6/2020

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 1,4,3

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC