January 17, 2018

Image: NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Berguitta heading toward Mauritius

by Rob Gutro, NASA

Image: NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Berguitta heading toward Mauritius
On Jan. 16 at 1:10 a.m. EST (0610 UTC) NASA's Terra satellite captured this visible light image of Tropical Cyclone Berguitta moving toward Mauritius. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team

On Jan.14, Tropical cyclone Berguitta formed and triggered warnings A class III tropical cyclone alert is in force for Rodrigues Island. 

On Jan. 16 at 1:10 a.m. EST (0610 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured a visible light image of Berguitta. The imagery showed the storm has taken on the classic comma shape of a strong tropical . A dense overcast were seen over the eye, which was surrounded by powerful bands of thunderstorms and a large, thick band of thunderstorms extended from west of the center to the southeast.

On Jan. 16 at 10 a.m. EST (1500 UTC) the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) noted that Berguitta's maximum sustained winds were near 85 knots (97.8 mph/157.4 kph). Berguitta was located near 18.3 degrees south latitude and 60.9 degrees east longitude, about 244 nautical miles east-northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius. The storm is moving to the west-southwest at 5 knots (5.7 mph/9.2 kph).

JTWC noted that warm sea surface temperatures with other environmental factors will maintain the storm's strength over the next day and a half.

Provided by NASA

Citation: Image: NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Berguitta heading toward Mauritius (2018, January 17) retrieved 30 May 2023 from https://phys.org/news/2018-01-image-nasa-tropical-cyclone-berguitta.html
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NASA sees Tropical Cyclone Berguitta heading toward Mauritius
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