NASA sees an elongated Tropical Cyclone Megh in the Gulf of Aden

Tropical Cyclone Megh moved past the Horn of Africa and into the Gulf of Aden when NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead from space and captured an image of the second tropical cyclone to affect Yemen this year.

Tropical Cyclone Megh formed in the Arabian Sea and moved west, past the Horn of Africa and into the Gulf of Aden. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) expects Megh to make landfall in southeastern Yemen on November 10, just north of the city of Aden.

On Nov. 9 at 10:05 UTC (5:05 a.m. EST) the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Megh in the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf is located in the Arabian Sea between Yemen, on the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and Somalia in the Horn of Africa

The VIIRS image showed powerful thunderstorms northwest and southeast of the center and in bands extending southwest and northeast of the center. The storm appeared somewhat elongated. VIIRS collects visible and infrared imagery and global observations of land, atmosphere, cryosphere and oceans.

At 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EST) on November 10, maximum sustained winds were near 75 knots (86.3 mph138.9 kph), down from 85 knots (97.3 mph/157.4 kph) six hours previously. Megh was centered near 12.5 degrees north latitude and 47.5 degrees east longitude, about 130 nautical miles (149.7 miles/240.9 km) south-southwest of Mukalla, Yemen. Megh has tracked westward at 16 knots (18.4 mph/29.6 kph) and is expected to curve to the west-northwest.

JTWC forecasters expect Megh to make landfall around 1200 UTC (7 a.m. EST) on November 10 north of Aden. The storm is expected to have maximum sustained winds near 40 knots by that time as the interaction with land and dry air are expected to weaken it. Once Megh makes landfall, it is expected to dissipate within a day.