July 20, 2022 - Hurricane Estelle
Hurricane Estelle
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On July 18, 2022, the sixth named storm and the fifth hurricane of the
Pacific Hurricane Season was spinning off the coast of Mexico. The
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s
Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Hurricane Estelle on
that afternoon. At that time, the slightly asymmetric storm sported a
cloud-filled eye and convective bands northeast of the center were
bringing rain to Mexico’s Socorro Island. Near the same time, Hurricane
Estelle was carrying maximum sustained winds of about 80 mph (129
km/h), placing it as a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
Wind Scale. That was just 5 mph (8 km/h) down from storm’s peak of 85
mph (137 km/h) reached on the afternoon of July 17.
On July 15, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued the first
advisory on the system, which was then a tropical depression sitting
about 345 miles (555 km) south of Acapulco, Mexico. Later that same day
the storm strengthened and was named Tropical Storm Estelle when
maximum sustained winds reached 40 mph (65 km/h). On the evening of
July 16, maximum sustained winds picked up to measure 80 mph (129
km/h), earning hurricane status for Estelle. Although expected to
intensify rapidly, Estelle began to encounter wind shear. It was able
to reach peak strength on July 17 but struggled to maintain strength
through the next day. By the morning of July 19, Estelle had once again
become a tropical storm.
At 11:00 p.m. EDT July 19 (0300 UTC on July 20), the NHC advised that
Tropical Storm Estelle was located at 20.2 N and 118.0 W, or about 550
miles (890 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California,
Mexico and was moving west northwest at 14 mph (22 km/h). Estelle was
maintaining maximum sustained winds of 65 mph (100 km/h).
Tropical Storm Estelle is expected to gradually weaken until it becomes
a post-tropical remnant low, likely on July 21. It is posing no threat
to land.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/18/2022
Resolutions: 1km (2.5 MB), 500m (2 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-20
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