NASA finds Tropical Depression Joyce continues to lose it

Visible and infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed Tropical Storm Joyce continues to become more disorganized.

On Monday, Sept. 17, 2018, there were no coastal watches or warnings in effect as Joyce was far from land.

At 8:55 a.m. EDT (1205 UTC) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard Aqua captured a visible image of Joyce. Drier air is moving into the depression causing it to lose organization. The dry air is sapping the storm's ability to form the thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone. Visible satellite imagery shows a few cloud swirls pivoting around a mean center with only a small amount of strongest thunderstorms displaced about 90 miles northeast of the mean center.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Sept. 17, the center of Tropical Depression Joyce was located near latitude 34.0 degrees north and longitude 28.4 degrees west. That's 280 miles (465 km) south-southwest of the Azores Islands.

The National Hurricane Center or NHC said the depression is moving toward the east-southeast near 8 mph (13 kph) and this forward speed is expected to continue while turning toward the southeast today, south on Tuesday, and southwest on Wednesday, Sept. 19. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 kph) with higher gusts. Some weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours.

Joyce is expected to become a remnant low tonight or Tuesday, Sept. 18.