NASA MODIS Image of the Day: September 25, 2012 – Tropical Storm Nadine (14L) in the North Atlantic
For two weeks in mid-September, 2012, Tropical Storm Nadine has meandered across the central and eastern Atlantic Ocean. First noticed as a large tropical wave with an area of low pressure off the west coast of Africa on September 7, Nadine was christened Tropical Depression Fourteen (14) by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) on September 11 and the first advisories on the system were released. By the next morning the storm had strengthened and was renamed Tropical Storm Nadine. By 11:00 p.m. AST on September 14, the NHC advised that Nadine had reached hurricane strength, with maximum sustained winds reaching 75 mph (120 km/h). As the eighth hurricane of the Atlantic season, Nadine reached maximum intensity on September 15-16, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h), and then began to slowly weaken. By September 19, the considerably weakened Tropical Storm Nadine, with winds up to 50 mph (85 km/h) brought rains and tropical storm force winds to the Azores as she stalled 155 mi (250 km) south-southwest of Flores. The storm then slowly passed south of the islands before losing tropical characteristics on September 21. The NHC issued no advisories on Post-tropical Cyclone Nadine on September 22, but by the next day the storm had restrengthened and once again sported tropical storm strength winds. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer captured this true-color image of Tropical Storm Nadine at 12:10 UTC on September 23. Near that time the maximum sustained winds were 65 mph (95 km/h) and the center of the Nadine was located 515 mi (835 km) south of the Azores. At 5:00 p.m. AST on September 24, the NHC reported that Tropical Storm Nadine’s maximum sustained winds were about 50 mph (85 km/h) and forecast that the storm would maintain strength for the next 5 days or so as it continued to meander in the Atlantic Ocean. No hazards affecting land were predicted.
