NASA Catches the Two Day Life of Tropical Cyclone Reuben

Tropical Cyclone Reuben formed on Sunday, March 21 at 22:35 UTC in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and by March 23 was already dissipating. NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Reuben when it was in the prime of its life on March 22.

The twentieth tropical cyclone (20P) of the South Pacific Ocean season formed southeast of Fiji and quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Reuben. Reuben moved south and intensified to 45 knots (51.7 mph/83.3 kph) before running into vertical wind shear that quickly weakened the storm. 

On March 22 at 21:50 UTC (5:50 p.m. EDT), the MODIS instrument aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Cyclone Reuben in the South Pacific Ocean. The image showed strong thunderstorms around the center, and southeast of the center as a result of northwesterly wind shear.

By March 23 at 0000 UTC (March 22 at 8 p.m. EDT), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their final bulletin on Reuben. At that time, Reuben was centered near 26.8 south latitude and 173.5 west longitude, about 688 nautical miles southeast of Suva, Fiji. Reuben’s maximum sustained winds were near 35 knots (40 mph/62 kph), and waning. Reuben was moving to the southeast at 7 knots * mph/12.9 kph).

Reuben is expected to dissipate in the next day or two.