ATLANTIC & PACIFIC HURRICANE ACTIVITY & PREDICTIONS 2014
The
Phases of Edouard
TD-6 forming September 11 at 0745 EDT
Major Hurricane Edouard on September 16
Track of Edouard from September 07 to 19
Personal Insights
Observations
The formation of tropical cyclone Edouard, being out in the middle of the Atlantic and away from land produced the perfect environment for testing new storm data collecting drones. Click on the above image to read the article.
Hurricane Edouard as seen from the International Space Station on September 17 over the Atlantic
Hurricane Edouard the ideal locale for testing new data drones
On Saturday, May 17, 2014 I was told that there will be a small system originating off the west coast of Africa which will remain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Also was given a date, September 10. On September 11 at 0745 EDT the above visible image of Tropical Depression 6 was taken by NOAA's GOES-East satellite as it developed. This date may seem to be off, but 0745 EDT SEPT 11 is 2345 SEPT 10 on Baker Island in the Pacific Ocean.
This "small system" originated from a wave off Africa and now as a tropical depression it continues to move across the Atlantic. From September 12th through the 14th the system is seen through the eyes of the Terra satellite cameras slowly transitioning from a depression to a storm and finally into a hurricane. Hurricane Edouard remains out in the open for the entire life cycle, east of the Caribbean Sea just as has been foretold.
On September 7, a tropical wave exited the west coast of Africa and began to move towards the west-northwest. On September 11, the disturbance was upgraded to Tropical Depression Six and by the end of the day (EDT) it became Tropical Storm Edouard. In the morning hours of September 14, Edouard was upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane.
NOAA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-East continually monitors the Atlantic Ocean and data was used to create this animation showing the first Atlantic Ocean tropical cyclone from birth to death. The GOES-East movie shows Hurricane Arthur from June 28 to July 4, 2014.
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Edouard in the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 15 at 12:50 p.m. EDT revealing a clear eye.
Image Credit: NASA's Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
48 hours later Edouard had transitioned from a Category 1 Hurricane through a Category 2 and finally into a Category 3 storm, the first major hurricane of 2014, and the first major hurricane in the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Sandy on October 25, 2012. Even though Edouard remained out in the open waters the swells from this powerful system was responsible for two men drowning off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland on September 17, while caught up in strong rip currents.