JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Image

Hurricane Ida Before Landfall

Aug. 31, 2021
Context Image
Larger image for PIA24538
The AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite caught views of Hurricane Ida as the high-end Category 4 storm swept ashore around noon local time on August 29, 2021, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
Context Image
Larger image for PIA24538

NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), aboard the Aqua satellite, caught views of Hurricane Ida as the high-end Category 4 storm swept ashore around noon local time on Aug. 29, 2021, near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. One snapshot showed the hurricane around 3 a.m. that day while it was still over the Gulf of Mexico. The second view (Figure 1) caught the storm around 1:45 p.m. local time.

In the infrared AIRS imagery, purple areas indicate very cold clouds carried high into the atmosphere by towering thunderstorms. These regions are also associated with heavy rainfall. Blue and green indicate warmer areas with shallower rain clouds. The orange and red areas represent mostly cloud-free air. The eye of the hurricane is seen just over the Louisiana coast as a small blue-green area in the middle of the large patch of purple in the after-landfall image.

AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide a three-dimensional look at the planet's weather and climate. Working in tandem, the two instruments make simultaneous observations down to Earth's surface. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, three-dimensional map of atmospheric temperature and humidity, cloud amounts and heights, greenhouse gas concentrations, and many other atmospheric phenomena. Launched into Earth orbit in 2002 aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft, the AIRS and AMSU instruments are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of Caltech.

More information about AIRS can be found at https://airs.jpl.nasa.gov.

Download JPG
Download TIFF
Mission
Target
  • Earth
Spacecraft
  • Aqua
Instrument
  • Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Keep Exploring

State Low-Humidity Thresholds for Flu Outbreaks

AIRS Temperature Anomalies

Hurricane Nicholas Before and After Landfall

July 2021 Heat Wave Surface Temperature

Heat Wave Surface Temperature

NASA's AIRS Instrument Monitors Carbon Monoxide From California Wildfires

AIRS Captures Tropical Storm Hanna

AIRS Captures Hurricane Douglas

Tropical Storm Fay 2020

NASA's AIRS Displays Sulfur Dioxide Plumes After Raikoke Eruption, June 2019

Related Topic

Mission .

EMIT

News .

NASA Studies Find Previously Unknown Loss of Antarctic Ice

News .

NASA Data on Plant ‘Sweating’ Could Help Predict Wildfire Severity

Mission .

Microwave Limb Sounder

News .

Tonga Eruption Blasted Unprecedented Amount of Water Into Stratosphere

News .

NASA’s Mineral Dust Detector Starts Gathering Data

News .

US-European Satellite Will Make World’s First Global Freshwater Survey

News .

NASA, SpaceX Launch Climate Science Research, More to Space Station

News .

NASA Highlights Climate Research on Cargo Launch, Sets Coverage

Mission .

ISS-RapidScat

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018