March 26, 2022 - Tropical Cyclone Halima
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Tropical Cyclone Halima formed on March 23, 2022, over the southwestern
Indian Ocean east of Mauritius. Under favorable environmental
conditions (warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear), Halima
explosively intensified on March 25 to become a Category 4 storm on the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds of
about 138 mph (222 km/h).
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), by 0300 UTC on
March 26 (11:00 p.m. EDT on March 25), the storm’s maximum sustained
winds had dropped to 127 mph (204 km/h), bringing it to Category 3
strength. At that time, Tropical Cyclone Halima was located about 569
mi (916 km) south of Diego Garcia and was moving southward. The storm
currently sits over cool water upwelling, but will once again move over
warmer waters, allowing some strengthening in the next day, but then is
expected to encounter stronger vertical wind shear as it moves south.
The wind shear will weaken the storm as well as cause it to arc east to
northeastward over the following several days as the storm
substantially weakens. Fortunately, Halima will travel through open
ocean and is not expected to cause hazards to land.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Tropical Cyclone
Halima on March 25 as the storm was intensifying to become the fourth
major storm of this year’s South-West Indian Ocean hurricane season.
Halima sported a small cloud-free eye and was a compact storm with
moderate convective bands wrapping around the eye. It also appears
asymmetric, suggesting some wind shear at the time the image was
captured.
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 3/25/2022
Resolutions: 1km (498.9 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (4.1 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=2022-03-26
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