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PHILIPPINES FEEL THE EFFECTS OF KUJIRA
Kujira became the first typhoon of the year in the northern West Pacific as it
pulled away from the east-central Philippines early on the afteroon (local time)
of the 4th of May 2009. The Philippines, which are frequently influenced by
tropical cyclones, felt the effects of Kujira (known locally as "Dante") while it was still just a tropical storm.
A tropical depression formed from a stationary area of low pressure on the
afteroon (local time) of May 1st near the southeastern tip of Luzon along the
eastern side of the central Philippines. Later that same day the depression was
upgraded to a minimal tropical storm and was named Kujira. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (commonly known as TRMM) has been providing valuable images and information on tropical cyclones around the Tropics for over 11 years now since its launch back in November of 1997. Armed with a combination of passive microwave and active radar sensors, TRMM can provide unique images of tropical cyclones.
This first image from TRMM shows what would later become
Kujira just after it had formed into a tropical depression. The image was taken
at 6:28 UTC (2:28 pm local time) on 2 May 2009. It shows the horizontal pattern
of rain intensity (top down view) within the depression. Rain rates in the center
of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), a unique space-borne
precipitation radar, while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave
Imager (TMI). These rain rates are overlaid on visible and infrared (IR) data
from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of this image, the
system was a new depression with sustained winds estimated at just 30 knots (35
mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
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(Click to see improved resolution)
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The center of circulation, located just
to the south of Catanduanes Island, is apparent from the banding (curvature) in
the rain pattern. Light to moderate rain (blue and green areas, respectively)
with locally heavier rates (red areas, which are often associated with areas of
deep convection) are located near and just to the east of the center over land.
Despite its relatively weak intensity, the system was able to generate a
substantial amount of rainfall due primarily to its slow movement.
Besides its own estimates, TRMM can be used to calibrate rainfall estimates from
other satellites for increased coverage. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-
satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
is used to monitor rainfall over the global Tropics.
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TMPA rainfall totals
associated with this system are shown for the period 27 April to 4 May 2009.
The analysis shows extremely heavy amounts of rain on the order of 750 mm or
more (~30 inches, shown by the lighter shade of brown) over southeastern Luzon
and Catanduanes Island just to the east. Just over 12 hours after the previous
TRMM snapshot of the depression was taken, a landslide in Sorsogon province in
far southeastern Luzon killed 17 people when their houses were swept away in a
village of Magallanes town. So far a total of 23 persons are reported to have
died in the region on account of the storm, mainly due to flooding and landslides.
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On Sunday May 3rd, Kujira finally began to move off to the northeast away from
the islands and into the northern Philippine Sea. In the process, it also gained
strength. This last image from TRMM was taken at 20:25 UTC on the 3rd of May
(4:25 am 4 May local time) as it was moving northeast away from the Philippines;
at that time it was a strong tropical storm with sustained winds estimated at 55
knots (~63 mph). In this image, Kujira has a small but well-defined core made
up almost entirely of a complete eyewall containing moderate to intense rain
(continuous circular area of green and red, respectively). Kujira would go on
to become a strong Category 3 typhoon with sustained winds estimated at 100 knots
(115 mph) by the following afternoon. The storm is expected to strengthen
slightly before weakening in the northwest Pacific well south of Japan.
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(Click to see improved resolution)
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Images by Hal Pierce(SSAI/NASA GSFC) and captions by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall.
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Curator:
NASA Official: Dr Scott A. Braun
Last Updated:
Monday May 4, 2009
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