September 26, 2014 - Tropical Storm Polo (17E) off Mexico

Tropical Storm Polo (17E) off Mexico

Tropical Storm Polo was moving towards southern Baja California on September 19, 2014, threatening to bring wind and rain to a storm-weary region. Only five days before, Hurricane Odile rocked Cabo San Lucas, a popular tourist town on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula as a Category 3 storm which brought winds of 125 mph (201 km/h) and a six-hour long deluge of rain. Odile caused extensive damage and at least five deaths.

Fortunately, Polo was both a gentler and kinder storm. On September 20 Polo's center came within 90 miles of the southern tip of Baja California carrying winds of only about 45 mph (72 km/h), according to advisories from the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on September 19 as Polo was tracking towards Mexico. At the time the image was captured, maximum sustained winds were near the storm’s peak strength of 70 mph (113 km/h). The center was distinct, but cloud-filled and the convective bands spiraled loosely in towards the center. The heaviest rain bands stretch over the Pacific Ocean in the south west, while wind shear helps keep most of the bands off the coast of Mexico in the northeast.

On September 20, Tropical Storm Polo began to weaken, and began curling to the northwest then the west, slowly moving away from land and towards open water. At 8:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time the NHC issued its final advisory on Polo, which had become a remnant low. At that time, the system was located at 22.2 north latitude and 114.4 west longitude, or about 290 mi (470 km w) of the southern tip of Baja California. Maximum sustained winds were 30 mph (45 km/h) and the remnants of Polo were moving west southwest, over open ocean.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 9/19/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC