Satellite Animation of Tropical Storm Gabrielle Birth Near Puerto Rico
One hour before midnight Eastern Daylight Time on Sept. 4, Tropical Depression 7 strengthened into Tropical Storm Gabrielle just 70 miles south of Ponce, Puerto Rico. NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured the development and NASA’s GOES Project created an animation that showed the developing storm.
Tropical Depression Seven had formed at 5 p.m. EDT on Sept. 4 and just 6 hours later it organized and strengthened into Gabrielle. Tropical Storm Gabrielle was bringing heavy rains to Puerto Rico and adjacent islands during the morning of Sept. 5. NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured an image of Gabrielle at 7:32 a.m. EDT today, Sept. 5 that showed Gabrielle over Puerto Rico. NASA’s GOES Project, located at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. compiled five days of images from Sept. 1 to Sept. 5 and created a seven second animation that shows the development of Gabrielle from the beginning.
By 8 a.m. EDT Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds near 40 mph/65 kph (mostly northwest of the center), and it was about 65 miles/105 km south-southwest of Ponce, Puerto Rico near 17.7 north and 67.4 west. It was moving to the northwest at 8 mph/13 kph and that motion is expected to continue today. Gabrielle had a minimum central pressure of 1008 millibars.
Radar images from Puerto Rico during the morning of Sept. 5 showed a well-defined mid-level center to the east of the surface location. On infrared satellite imagery, the surface center was difficult to find, but appeared to be on the western edge of the strongest convection and thunderstorms.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic from Cabo Engano to Cabo Frances Viejo. A Tropical Storm Watch Is In Effect for the Dominican Republic from Santo Domingo to Cabo Engano.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Gabrielle is expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches over Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eastern portions of the Dominican Republic with isolated maximum amounts of up to 12 inches possible in areas of mountainous terrain. Rainfall that large could cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain.
The National Hurricane Center expects Gabrielle’s center to pass near or over the southwestern portion of Puerto Rico during the morning today, and across the Mona Passage later in the day. Gabrielle should then move east of the Turks and the Caicos Islands on Friday.
