Powerful Cyclone Tomas Battering Northern Fiji Islands Tomas grew into a monster Category 4 cyclone and thrashed the northern Fiji Islands with heavy rains and maximum sustained winds of up to 170 mph (275 km). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a visible image of most of Cyclone Tomas on Mar. 14 10:21 p.m. ET and noticed the storm’s eye is cloud-filled.

Another instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite measured the cloud top temperatures of Tomas’ thunderstorms, and revealed very high, cold thunderstorms (as cold as minus 63 degree Fahrenheit) surrounding Tomas’ 34-mile in diameter-wide-eye. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument showed forecasters that the thunderstorm “engine” in Tomas’ center was very powerful with strong thunderstorms, dropping heavy rainfall.

Solomon Islands Under Warnings for Category 4 Cyclone Ului

There are two powerful cyclones in the Southern Pacific Ocean this week, Tomas and Ului. Ului is a Category Four Cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and is affecting the Solomon Islands where warnings and watches have been posted today, March 15. NASA satellite data has confirmed that Ului is a strong cyclone with a wide reach.

Tropical cyclone warnings in the Solomon Islands are in effect for Rennell and Bellona, A tropical cyclone watch is in effect for the provinces of Guadalcanal, Makira, Central, Western, Malaita, Isabel and Choiseul, in addition to the Shortland Islands.

The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea that is made up of almost one thousand islands. The combined islands cover a land mass of 10,965 square miles (28,400 square kilometers).