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February 23, 2011 - Tropical Cyclone Dianne (16S) off Australia
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On February 20, 2011 the eye of Severe Tropical Cyclone Dianne swirled in the Indian Ocean as storm bands lashed the waters and also blew across the land, bringing heavy rain to already-soaked regions in Western Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite captured this true-color image the same day.
At the time this image was captured, 6:35 UTC, the eye of the storm lies nearly due west of Carnavon, a coastal town that lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River. The storm’s eye is well-formed, suggestive of a strong Cyclone. The rains from Dianne brought flooding to the town for the third time in two months.
The storm developed as a low off the Western Australian coast on Feb 11 and strengthened on February 15to cyclone strength. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a cyclone watch later in the day. Late on February 16, the low strengthened to Tropical Cyclone Dianne. By February 19, Dianne’s winds increased to a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian Scale) or a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. By late February 21 the system had lost strength and was downgraded to a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone, and by the next day, it remained in the Indian Ocean as an ex-tropical low.
Because the eye stayed over open water, the impact of this storm was primarily heavy rain, which caused flooding in many areas. The storm also affected business, especially the salt industry. The Port Hedland, Dampier and Lake MacLeod salt mines closed as winds and rain battered the coast. ABC Rural reported that 1.9 million cubic meters of rainwater had fallen on the Port Hedland site in the last week, which is the amount of water that would be used by 2,000 homes in a year. Because of environmental concerns, the site contains and processes every bit of rain that falls before it is released. It has been estimated that it may take a month to complete the processing of this rainfall and return to full production.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/20/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On February 20, 2011 the eye of Severe Tropical Cyclone Dianne swirled in the Indian Ocean as storm bands lashed the waters and also blew across the land, bringing heavy rain to already-soaked regions in Western Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite captured this true-color image the same day.
At the time this image was captured, 6:35 UTC, the eye of the storm lies nearly due west of Carnavon, a coastal town that lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River. The storm’s eye is well-formed, suggestive of a strong Cyclone. The rains from Dianne brought flooding to the town for the third time in two months.
The storm developed as a low off the Western Australian coast on Feb 11 and strengthened on February 15to cyclone strength. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a cyclone watch later in the day. Late on February 16, the low strengthened to Tropical Cyclone Dianne. By February 19, Dianne’s winds increased to a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian Scale) or a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. By late February 21 the system had lost strength and was downgraded to a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone, and by the next day, it remained in the Indian Ocean as an ex-tropical low.
Because the eye stayed over open water, the impact of this storm was primarily heavy rain, which caused flooding in many areas. The storm also affected business, especially the salt industry. The Port Hedland, Dampier and Lake MacLeod salt mines closed as winds and rain battered the coast. ABC Rural reported that 1.9 million cubic meters of rainwater had fallen on the Port Hedland site in the last week, which is the amount of water that would be used by 2,000 homes in a year. Because of environmental concerns, the site contains and processes every bit of rain that falls before it is released. It has been estimated that it may take a month to complete the processing of this rainfall and return to full production.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/20/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
