NASA/JAXA GPM Satellite Eyes Eta Over Nicaragua

Tropical Storm Eta over the Florida west coast on November 11, 2020 at approximately 9:11 EST (14:11Z). Color bar for frozen precipitation rates (ie, snow rates). Shades of cyan represent low amounts of frozen precipitation, whereas shades of purple represent high amounts of precipitation. Color bar for liquid precipitation rates (ie, rain rates). Shades of green represent low amounts of liquid precipitation, whereas shades of red represent high amounts of precipitation. After a long and meandering journey over Central America, across central Cuba, and through the Florida Keys, Eta, the 28th named storm and 12th hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, wound up nearly stationary as a moderate tropical storm in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico just north of the western tip of Cuba on the morning of November 10th. Before long however, a deep layer trough located over the western third of the US began to shift eastward, and by the afternoon of the 10th, it started to pull Eta back towards the north and the west coast of the Florida peninsula. As it did so, a combination of warm waters and northwesterly wind shear meant that Eta essentially maintained its intensity as a moderate tropical storm. But by the evening of the 10th, as the northwesterly wind shear abated, Eta began to strengthen, becoming a strong tropical storm overnight. At 7:35 a.m. EST on the morning of November 11, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Eta had once again become a hurricane.It was just after this time that the NASA / JAXA GPM Core Observatory satellite flew over Eta once again, after having observed the storm over Nicaragua on November 3 and the Florida Keys on November 8. The above animation shows yet another detailed look into Eta's precipitation courtesy of GPM, which overflew the storm at 9:11 a.m. EST (14:11 UTC) on November 11.Rainfall rates derived from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) show all of Eta’s heavy rainbands (in red and orange) wrapping around mainly the eastern and northern sides of the storm. Tall cloud towers associated with areas of deep convection (in blue), where the DPR detected frozen precipitation particles extending upward within these thunderstorms, are located north and east of the center. Eta’s overall asymmetric structure is consistent with a storm still in the process of maturing.However, Eta would not be a hurricane for long, as dry air weakened Eta back to a tropical storm by the early afternoon. The combination of increasing wind shear, cooler waters and Eta’s close proximity to land meant that Eta made landfall as a moderate tropical storm with sustained winds reported at 50 mph by National Hurricane Center (NHC) when it crossed the Florida coast near Cedar Key around 4:00 a.m. EST on November 12.At the time of GPM's overpass, Eta was a low-strength hurricane with maximum sustained winds reported at 75 mph by NHC.GPM data is archived at https://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Related pages

Tropical Storm Eta making landfall over the Florida Keys on Sunday, November 8, 2020 at approximately 23:11Z (11/9/2020 4:11 EST). Color bar for frozen precipitation rates (ie, snow rates). Shades of cyan represent low amounts of frozen precipitation, whereas shades of purple represent high amounts of precipitation. Color bar for liquid precipitation rates (ie, rain rates). Shades of green represent low amounts of liquid precipitation, whereas shades of red represent high amounts of precipitation. After striking the northeast coast of Nicaragua as a powerful Category 4 storm back on November 3, Hurricane Eta weakened rapidly over Central America but still brought major flooding and triggered numerous landslides that so far have resulted in at least 250 fatalities across the region, according to media reports. Eta was down to a tropical depression when the center re-emerged over the northwestern Caribbean on the evening of November 5. An upper-level trough over the Gulf of Mexico first steered Eta northeastward towards Cuba on the 6th. Because it was disorganized after its trek across Central America, it took time for Eta to respond to the still warm waters of the western Caribbean, but by the morning the November 7, Eta had once again reached tropical storm intensity. Eta crossed central Cuba on the morning of the 8th as a strong tropical storm before emerging over the Florida Straits. The same upper-level trough now began to draw Eta back towards the northwest in the direction of the Florida Keys.This data visualization provides a detailed look into Eta courtesy of the GPM Core Observatory satellite, which overflew the storm at 11:41 p.m. EST on November 8 (4:41 UTC November 9), just after the center made landfall on Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys. Rainfall rates derived from the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) show that Eta had a rather large but well-defined eye immediately surrounded by very heavy rain rates (shown in red colors) north and east of the center that are part of the eyewall. GPM also shows that the bulk of the rain associated with Eta was contained in several rainbands wrapping across the Florida peninsula well north of the center. Tall cloud towers associated with areas of deep convection (highlighted by the blue isosurface) detected by the DPR show where precipitation-sized particles extended upward within these thunderstorms that are fueling Eta’s circulation. At the time of the GPM overpass, Eta was a strong tropical storm with maximum sustained winds reported at 65 mph by the National Hurricane Center (NHC).After passing through the Florida Keys, Eta turned southwest and weakened slightly as a result of ingesting some drier air. The latest NHC forecast suggests that Eta could meander over the southeast Gulf of Mexico north of western Cuba for a day or so before drifting slowly northward towards the northern Gulf Coast.Eta is the 28th named storm of 2020 which beats the 2005 record for the most named storms in a single hurricane season. (See 27 Storms: Arlene to Zeta for a summary of the 2005 hurricane season).GPM data is archived at https://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Related pages