Hurricane Season 2010: System 99W (N. Indian Ocean)

Northern Indian Ocean's System 99W Has Strong Thunderstorms in NASA Imagery

Infrared satellite imagery of System 99W in the Northern Indian Ocean today shows some strong convection around the center of the storm as it continues moving toward Sri Lanka.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of System 99W's clouds on Nov. 4 at 07:53 UTC (3:53 a.m. EDT). The clouds in the center of System 99W were as cold as or colder than -63 Fahrenheit, indicating strong convection and thunderstorms. The western extent of System 99W's clouds have already reached Sri Lanka.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center is the organization that forecasts tropical cyclones in that region, and has noted that "formation of a significant tropical cyclone is possible within 200 nm either side of a line from 8.2 North and 94.0 East to 8.8 North and 87.1 East within the next 12 to 24 hours."

Maximum sustained winds are between 25 and 30 knots, and satellite data indicated that the center of circulation appears to be near 8.0 North and 92.7 East. That's about 790 miles east-southeast of Chennai, India.

System 99W is moving westward near 14 mph (12 knots) and NASA satellites are watching the storm for further development.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD