On September 5, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC) the radar on the Global Precipitation Measuring Mission (GPM) satellite captured a 3-D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma.
Under the central ring of clouds that circles the eye, water that had evaporated from the ocean surface condenses, releases heat, and powers the circling winds of the hurricane. The radar on the GPM satellite is able to estimate how much water is falling as precipitation inside of the hurricane, which serves as a guide to how much energy is being released inside the hurricane's central "heat engine."
On September 5, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC) the radar on the Global Precipitation Measuring Mission (GPM) satellite captured a 3-D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma.
Under the central ring of clouds that circles the eye, water that had evaporated from the ocean surface condenses, releases heat, and powers the circling winds of the hurricane. The radar on the GPM satellite is able to estimate how much water is falling as precipitation inside of the hurricane, which serves as a guide to how much energy is being released inside the hurricane's central "heat engine."
The blue-gray 3-D shape contains the light precipitation (corresponding to an observed 20-dBZ radar reflectivity), while the small, red 3-D shapes at the base of the storm contain the heaviest precipitation (corresponding to an observed 50-dBZ radar reflectivity). A ring of updrafts just outside of the
hurricane's eye lifts this precipitation to approximately a 12 kilometer (7.4 mile) altitude (yellow portion of the shaded volume).
Continue reading at NASA / Goddard Space Flight Center
Image: On September 5, 2017 at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 UTC) the radar on the Global Precipitation Measuring Mission (GPM) satellite captured a 3-D view of the heat engine inside of category-5 Hurricane Irma.
Credits: NASA / GPM data in this image were provided by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
