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

NASA-Built Weather Sensors Capture Vital Data on Hurricane Ian

Sept. 28, 2022
From aboard the International Space Station, NASA-built instruments COWVR and TEMPEST captured wind and water vapor data from Hurricane Ian as the storm neared Cuba.
From aboard the International Space Station, NASA-built instruments COWVR and TEMPEST captured wind and water vapor data from Hurricane Ian as the storm neared Cuba.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full Image Details

A pair of microwave radiometers collected data on the storm as they passed over the Caribbean Sea aboard the International Space Station.

Two recently launched instruments that were designed and built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to provide forecasters data on weather over the open ocean captured images of Hurricane Ian on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022, as the storm approached Cuba on its way north toward the U.S. mainland.

COWVR (short for Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer) and TEMPEST (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems) observe the planet’s atmosphere and surface from aboard the International Space Station, which passed in low-Earth orbit over the Caribbean Sea at about 12:30 a.m. EDT.

Ian made landfall in Cuba’s Pinar del Rio province at 4:30 a.m. EDT, according to the National Hurricane Center. At that time, it was a Category 3 hurricane, with estimated wind speeds of 125 mph (205 kph).

The image above combines microwave emissions measurements from both COWVR and TEMPEST. White sections indicate the presence of clouds. Green portions indicate rain. Yellow, red, and black indicate where air and water vapor were moving most swiftly. Ian’s center is seen just off of Cuba’s southern coast, and the storm is shown covering the island with rain and wind.

Get the Latest JPL News

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

COWVR and TEMPEST sent the data for this image back to Earth in a direct stream via NASA’s tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) constellation. The data were processed at JPL and made available to forecasters less than two hours after collection.

About the size of a minifridge, COWVR measures natural microwave emissions over the ocean. The magnitude of the emissions increases with the amount of rain in the atmosphere, and the strongest rain produces the strongest microwave emissions. TEMPEST – comparable in size to a cereal box – tracks microwaves at a much shorter wavelength, allowing it to see ice particles within the hurricane’s cloudy regions that are thrust into the upper atmosphere by the storm.

Both microwave radiometers were conceived to demonstrate that smaller, more energy-efficient, more simply designed sensors can perform most of the same measurements as current space-based weather instruments that are heavier, consume more power, and cost much more to construct.

COWVR’s development was funded by the U.S. Space Force, and TEMPEST was developed with NASA funding. The U.S. Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8) is responsible for hosting the instruments on the space station under Space Force funding in partnership with NASA. Data from the instruments is being used by government and university weather forecasters and scientists. The mission will inform development of future space-based weather sensors, and scientists are working on mission concepts that would take advantage of the low-cost microwave sensor technologies to study long-standing questions, such as how heat from the ocean fuels global weather patterns.

News Media Contact

Andrew Wang / Jane J. Lee

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

626-379-6874 / 818-354-0307

andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov / jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov

2022-139

Related News

Earth .

Joint NASA, CNES Water-Tracking Satellite Reveals First Stunning Views

Climate Change .

NASA Uses 30-Year Satellite Record to Track and Project Rising Seas

Weather .

Ranking Atmospheric Rivers: New Study Finds World of Potential

Earth .

NASA and Italian Space Agency Join Forces on Air Pollution Mission

Earth .

NASA-ISRO Science Instruments Arrive in India Ahead of 2024 Launch

Climate Change .

NASA Space Mission Takes Stock of Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Countries

Technology .

NASA’s Quantum Detector Achieves World-Leading Milestone

Earth .

Removing Traces of Life in Lab Helps NASA Scientists Study Its Origins

Earth .

Dynamic NASA-Built Weather Sensors Enlisted to Track Tropical Cyclones

Asteroids and Comets .

Webb Detects Extremely Small Main Belt Asteroid

Explore More

Image .

Mir Diamond Mine, Siberia

Mission .

Deep Space Network

Image .

30 Years of Sea Level Rise

Image .

Chausey, French Channel Islands

Event April 20, 2023 .

Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) Mission

Image .

Poniente Almeriense, Spain

Image .

COWVR, TEMPEST Track Tropical Cyclone Mandous

Image .

Chaine des Puys, France

Image .

Satellites Assess Earthquake Damage in Turkey

Image .

London, England Parks

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
Directions and Maps
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