Hurricane Season 2011: Tropical Depression 11W (Western North Pacific Ocean)

NASA Satellite Confirms Birth of 11th Tropical Depression in Western North Pacific

Right after the tenth tropical depression came together in the western North Pacific, the eleventh was born today, July 25 and captured on infrared satellite imagery from NASA.

On July 25 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT), Tropical Depression 11W formed 505 nautical miles south-southeast of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam near 5.6 North and 147.2 East. It has maximum sustained winds near 25 knots and is moving to the west-northwest near 4 knots (5 mph).

Infrared imagery from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite showed that the storm consolidated quickly. Because the depression is in a good environment of low wind shear and warm ocean surface temperatures it is expected to reach typhoon status later this week.

Tropical Depression 11W is forecast to move in a west-northwesterly direction and cross between Yap to the south and Andersen Air Force Base to the north.

Text credit: Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.