Hurricane Bonnie w/ Cloud Tower(22 Aug 1998)

  • Credit

    NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Hurricane Bonnie from TRMM and GOES with Cloud Tower: August 22, 1998

These compelling images are from Hurricane Bonnie showing a cumulonimbus storm cloud, towering like a sky scraper, 59,000 feet (18 kilometres) into the sky from the eyewall. Thes images were obtained on Saturday, 22 August 1998, by the world's first spaceboarne rain RADAR aboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint U.S.-Japanese mission. Launched November 27, 1997, the TRMM spacecraft contines to provide exciting new insight into cloud systems over tropical oceans. By comparison, the highest mountain in the world, Mt. Everest, is 29,000 feet (9 kilometres) and the average commercial jet flies at barely one-half the height of Bonnie's cloud tops. Scientists believe that towering cloud structures like this are probably precursors to hurricane intensification. This was the situation with Bonnie whose central pressure dropped from 977 millibars to 957 millibars in the subsequent 24 hours. TRMM is a joint NASA and NASDA mission that was launched November 27, 1997 from the Japanese Space Center, Tanegashima, Japan.

A low angle view of the 18 km Hurricane Bonnie cloud tower

Metadata

  • Sensor

    TRMM/VIRS, TRMM/PR

  • Animation ID

    211

  • Video ID

    SVS1998-0005

  • Start Timecode

    1:01:34:28

  • End Timecode

    01:02:22:14

  • Animator

    Greg Shirah

  • Studio

    SVS

  • Visualization Date

    1998/12/31

  • Scientist

    Chris Kummerow (NASA/GSFC)

  • Keywords

    Hurricane

  • DLESE Subject

    Natural hazards, Atmospheric science

  • Data Date

    1998/08/22

  • Animation Type

    Regular