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Matthew (Atlantic Ocean)
Image above: NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured a visible-light image of Hurricane Matthew on Sept. 30, 2016, at 1:45 p.m. EDT as it was strengthening into a major hurricane. Image Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project.
NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured a visible-light image of Hurricane Matthew on Sept. 30 at 1:45 p.m. EDT as it was strengthening into a major hurricane.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the NASA/NOAA GOES Project used data from NOAA's GOES-East satellite to create an image of the Caribbean Sea's major hurricane. The eye was visible in satellite imagery.
At 2 p.m. EDT a tropical storm warning is in effect for the Colombia-Venezuela border to Riohacha.
Data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph (195 kph) with higher gusts. Matthew is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours.
The eye of Hurricane Matthew was located near 13.6 degrees north latitude and 71.3 degrees west longitude. Matthew is moving toward the west-southwest near 12 mph (19 kph). A westward motion at a slower forward speed is expected later today and tonight. A turn toward the west-northwest is forecast by Saturday night, followed by a turn toward the northwest by early Sunday. On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will pass north of the Guajira Peninsula this afternoon and tonight and remain over the central Caribbean Sea through early Sunday.
Image above: On Sept. 29, 2016, at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured this visible image of then-Tropical Storm Matthew in the Caribbean Sea. Image Credits: NOAA/NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team.
On Sept. 29 at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Matthew south of Puerto Rico, and moving west in the Caribbean Sea.
On Sept. 30 at 8 a.m. EDT, NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that a tropical storm watch was in effect for Aruba and the Colombia/Venezuela border to Riohacha. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case within the next 24 to 36 hours.
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the NASA/NOAA GOES Project combined infrared and visible imagery from NOAA's GOES-East satellite into an animation of Matthew. The animation of imagery from Sept. 27 to Sept. 30 shows Tropical Storm Matthew move into the Caribbean Sea, where it became a hurricane.
Matthew Becomes a Hurricane in Caribbean
Video above: This animation of NOAA's GOES-East satellite imagery from Sept. 27 to Sept. 30, 2016, shows Tropical Storm Matthew move into the Caribbean Sea where it became a hurricane. Image Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project.
At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC) on Sept. 30 the center of Hurricane Matthew was located by an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft near 13.8 degrees north latitude and 70.3 degrees west longitude. That's about 130 miles (210 km) northeast of Punta Gallinas, Colombia, and about 520 miles (840 km) east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.
Matthew was moving toward the west-southwest near 14 mph (22 kph). NHC said a turn toward the west is expected later today, and this westward motion with a decrease in forward speed are forecast through Saturday. A turn toward the northwest is expected Saturday night or Sunday, Oct. 2. The latest minimum central pressure reported by the aircraft was 971 millibars.
NHC noted that data from the aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Matthew could become a major hurricane later today or tonight, Sept. 30.
NHC said interests elsewhere along the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia should monitor the progress of Matthew. Interests in Jamaica, Hispaniola, and eastern Cuba should also monitor the progress of Matthew. A hurricane watch may be required for Jamaica later today.
Related links:
NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/main/index.html
GOES (Geostationary Environmental Operational Satellites): http://www.nasa.gov/goes/
For hurricane effects, visit the NHC website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.
Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, by Rob Gutro.
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