The second tropical depression of the Atlantic hurricane season has finally formed. It’s been a long time since that forecasters have seen any tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean as the first Atlantic depression formed in late May. Tropical Depression 2 (TD2) formed at 6 a.m. EDT today, August 11 far in the eastern Atlantic Ocean about 280 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.

At 11 a.m. EDT, TD2 had sustained winds near 30 mph, and was moving west near 13 mph. It had moved about 70 miles west since its birth and was now located near 14.6 north and 29.6 west. TD2’s minim um central pressure is 1006 millibars. Data from NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite, captured an infrared image of TD2 late on August 10 at 11:53 p.m. EDT.

NASA false-colors the AIRS infrared imagery to indicate the location of the highest clouds in a storm. In the AIRS imagery, purple coloration indicates the highest clouds, while blue coloration indicates lower clouds. The AIRS image indicated only the lower clouds in TD2. Those clouds however are still icy cold, about 240 Kelvin, or minus 27F.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami, Fla., who forecasts storms in the Atlantic Ocean noted in their discussion today, Sea surface temperatures along the forecast track will be marginally warm…and the depression will have to endure some dry air in the mid-levels. Nonetheless, vertical [wind] shear is expected to be light enough during the first four days or so to allow some slow strengthening.

Residents on the Hawaiian Islands are bracing for Tropical Storm Felicia’s heavy rains and gusty winds today and the next couple of days as travels through the island chain. Large and dangerous ocean swells have already reached the main island, and will sweep into the rest of the state through today, August 11.

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center noted that a tropical storm watch remains in effect today for Oahu and for all of Maui County…which includes the islands of Maui…Kahoolawe…Lanai…and Molokai. At 2 a.m. HST Felicia was still a tropical storm with sustained winds near 40 mph, and was closing into the Hawaiian Island chain.

Her center was located 190 miles east of Jahului, Hawaii and 280 miles east of Honolulu. That’s near latitude 20.8 north and longitude 153.5 west . Because tropical storm force winds extend 100 miles from her center, they’ll be felt, along with rains, long before her center approaches the islands.

She’s continuing to move westward near 10 mph and will start moving west-northwest over the next couple of days. Minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars. She’s expected to weaken late tonight into a depression.

GOES-11, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite provided infrared imagery of Felicia’s clouds at 8 a.m. EDT on August 11. It revealed that Felicia no longer has the circular shape- indicating a weakening storm. Felicia is expected to weaken to a depression late tonight, August 11.

GOES-11 is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and images are created by NASA’s GOES Project, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The ninth tropical depression of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season formed over this past weekend, and it looks like it’s on a slow track to getting a name. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center note in their discussion on August 10 that computer models indicate that it may strengthen enough to become a tropical storm in couple of days.

Meanwhile, Tropical Depression 9E (TD9E) remains disorganized, and that’s evident in NASA’s satellite data from NASA’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. The AIRS infrared image reveals 2 areas of clouds that make up TD9E, not a tight circle or comma shaped storm, which would indicate a well- organized tropical cyclone.

At 11 a.m. EDT, TD9E had sustained winds near 35 mph, and was moving west near 9 mph. It was quite far from land, near 14.9 north and 123.1 west. That’s about 1,025 miles west-southwest of the Baja California, an area that seems to be a hot-spot for tropical development this season. TD9E’s minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars.

AIRS satellite imagery from August 10 at 5:47 a.m. EDT shows that the storm doesn’t have any intense precipitation areas yet. NASA false-colors the AIRS infrared imagery to indicate the location of the highest clouds in a storm. In the AIRS imagery, purple coloration indicates the highest clouds, while blue coloration indicates lower clouds. The AIRS image indicated only the lower clouds in TD9E. Those clouds, however are still icy cold, about 240 Kelvin, or minus 27F.

The bottom line in storms is: the colder the clouds are, the higher they are, and the more powerful the thunderstorms are that make up the cyclone. TD9E has a way to go to get those powerful thunderstorms and the purple coloration show up in the NASA AIRS infrared satellite imagery.

Typhoon Morakot brought enormous amounts of rainfall to Taiwan and China and NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) estimated it from space. The monster Typhoon Morakot that was over 1,000 miles in diameter last week brought widespread damage to Taiwan and China as crossed Taiwan and made landfall over the weekend in mainland China.

The TRMM satellite, managed by NASA and the Japanese Space Agency can measure rainfall from space. TRMM data, along with information from other satellites, allows researchers to see how much rain is falling over most of the world every three hours and map areas of potential flooding. Maps that show areas of potential floods use precipitation radar data and high resolution measurements of water content of clouds made by microwave radiometers.

The rainfall map that TRMM created from August 3-10 over Taiwan and China showed more than 40 inches of rain fell in central and northern Taiwan as a result of Typhoon Morakot. Some areas even reported isolated amounts near 100 inches (more than 8 feet) of water!

Those rainfall maps are also made into a seven-day “movie loop” that allows users to track storms as they travel over land and oceans around the globe. The rainfall animations are developed in the Laboratory for Atmospheres of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. by the TRMM precipitation research team.

The tremendous amounts of rain caused mudslides and raging rivers that overflowed their banks and caused widespread flooding and erosion. In the city of Chihpen, Taiwan, one hotel that was evacuated along the banks of a river collapsed into the river. In the Hsiao-lin village it is feared that a mudslide buried more than 600 residents alive. News reports in Taiwan are calling Morakot’s flooding the worst in 50 years.

According to the United Kingdom’s Guardian newspaper, mainland China experienced sustained winds near 75 mph as Morakot made landfall in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. More than 500,000 were evacuated and its heavy rains flooded coastal areas and destroyed as many as 1,800 homes.