NASA MODIS Image of the Day: April 7, 2011 – Tropical Cyclone 20S over Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone 20S drenched portions of Western Australia in early April, 2011.
Some of the hardest hit areas were Wyndham, where more than 6 inches of rain fell in less than 48 hours, and near the mouth of the King Edward River, where more than 5 inches of rainfall were measured in the same time frame, according to Accuweather.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image of the Tropical Cyclone 20S as it strengthened and organized on April 2, 2011 at 02:05 UTC. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued the first advisory for 20S at 03:00 UTC, less than an hour after this image was captured. At that time, the storm was located 660 miles NE of Port Hedland, Australia, moving WSW at 8 knots and had maximum sustained winds of 35 knots (about 40 mph), with gusts to 45 knots (51 mph). This wind speed enabled it to be categorized as a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone on the Australian Scale (wind speeds of 34 – 47 knots), although it remained at Tropical Storm strength on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Tropical Cyclone 20S made landfall briefly at about 12:00 UTC on April 3, with maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (about 40 mph). By April 4, the Storm began to dissipate into a remnant low pressure area, and the final warning was issued. At 1500 UTC, the maximum sustained winds were down to 20 knots (23 mph) and it was located about 590 miles east-northeast of Learmonth, Australia.
