JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Earth
.

Hurricane Florence as Viewed by NASA's AIRS Instrument

Sep 12, 2018
This image shows Hurricane Florence in infrared light, and was taken at 1:35 p.m. local time on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on board NASA's Aqua satellite. Florence underwent rapid intensification from Category 2 to Category 4 yesterday and was a Category 3 storm as of Wednesday evening.› Full image and caption
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This image shows Hurricane Florence in visible light, much as our eyes would see it. This is a classic image of a strong hurricane, with a well-defined eye near the center of a large, thick cloud shield containing bands of very thick clouds, and high, thin clouds far from the storm where air flows away from the thick rain clouds.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's AIRS instrument captures new images of Hurricane Florence.

All eyes were on Hurricane Florence Wednesday as the Category 3 storm barreled toward the U.S. East Coast. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument was watching, too, and captured new imagery of the storm's approach.

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 weather and climate. It acquired infrared and visible light images at 1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday. In the infrared image, a symmetrical ring of deep, cold rain clouds is shown in purple. Warmer areas, including a well-defined eye, are shown in blue. Shallower rain clouds are shown in green, while the red areas represent mostly cloud-free air moving away from the storm. The visible light image shows Florence much as our eyes would see it. It showcases the storm's thick cloud shield with clouds that extend far from the eye of the storm.

Hurricane Florence underwent rapid intensification from a Category 2 storm to a Category 4 storm earlier this week. Although it was downgraded to Category 3 on Wednesday, the storm remains large and powerful with the potential for devastating winds, rain and storm surges. States of emergency have already been declared in several states along the coast.

Launched into orbit in 2002, the AIRS and AMSU instruments fly onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the Caltech in Pasadena.

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

News Media Contact

Esprit Smith

818-354-4269

Esprit.Smith@jpl.nasa.gov

2018-212

Related News

Climate Change .

Warming Seas Are Accelerating Greenland’s Glacier Retreat

Earth .

NASA, US and European Partner Satellite Returns First Sea Level Measurements

Technology .

NASA Confirms New SIMPLEx Mission Small Satellite to Blaze Trails Studying Lunar Surface

Earth .

New Data Confirm 2020 SO to Be the Upper Centaur Rocket Booster From the 1960's

Earth .

Follow Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in Real Time As It Orbits Earth

Climate Change .

US-European Mission Launches to Monitor the World's Oceans

Climate Change .

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Prepared for Launch

Climate Change .

Study: Urban Greenery Plays a Surprising Role in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Climate Change .

NASA TV to Air Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch, Prelaunch Activities

Earth .

Earth May Have Captured a 1960s-Era Rocket Booster

Explore More

Image .

Glacier Undercutting in Action

Image .

Hulhumale, Maldives

Topic .

Earth

Image .

Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Infographic .

Inside Hurrricanes

Image .

Mt. Etna, Italy

Image .

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich First Light Waveform

Image .

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich First Light Sea Level

Image .

Providencia Island, Colombia

Image .

Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to 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 Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono