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JULY 17, 2007 UPDATE Click here to see a quicktime animation Animation of Isabel's Precipitation History This 13-day animation depicts the precipitation patterns created as Hurricane Isabel grew into a hurricane, crossed the western Atlantic, and slammed into the eastern U.S. The data from the Version 6 TRMM 3B42 multi-sensor precipitation estimate are given medium-gray zero values in areas with higher-quality microwave-based estimates, while the remaining areas, filled with microwave-calibrated infrared estimates, are given darker-gray zero values. This display allows the reader to understand some of the apparent fluctuations in the precipitation pattern, as well as giving a qualitative sense of how much microwave data was available at this time. Isabel's location at each time was interpolated from NRL-Monterey storm track data, providing the anchor for the purple direction-of-movement arrow; the red range rings at 200, 400, and 600 km; and the black ring that approximately encompasses the storm's precipitation. Note that the latitude/longitude base map distorts the rings' circular shapes as the storm moves north. Images by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) Caption by Dr George J. Huffman (SSAI/NASA GSFC)
ORIGINAL STORY SEPTEMBER 2007
Isabel, which was once a powerful Categeroy 5 hurricane in the central
Atlantic with winds estimated at 160 mph, finally came ashore on
September 18, 2003 as a much weaker Category 2 storm with winds of near
100 mph just south of Cape Hatteras along the outter banks of North
Carolina. Isabel quickly tracked off to the northwest leaving heavy
rains, downed trees and widespread power outages thoughout the
midAtlantic region. The TRMM-based, near-real time Multi-satellite
Precipitation Analysis (MPA) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
shows rainfall totals along the path of Isabel for the period 17-19
September 2003. The heaviest amounts (darker reds), on the order of
6 inches, appear offshore. Inland the highest totals occur over
central and southeast Virginia with widespread areas receiving 4 to 5
inches of rain (red areas). Most of central and eastern North Carolina
had between 1.5 and 3 inches (green areas) with locally heavier amounts
in areas of the outter banks (red areas). Rainfall totals in western
North Carolina, the Delmarva peninsula and eastern Maryland were
relatively light (blue areas). In the general the MPA estimates agree
well with radar observations with the exception of far northern North
Carolina near the border with Virginia where radar estimates tend to
be somewhat higher. Overall the rainfall totals from Isabel were
relatively low due to the rapid forward motion of the storm. Isabel
moved quickly to the northwest after coming ashore at between 18 and
24 mph around the backside of a high pressure system to the east and
ahead of an approaching trough from the west. The hurricane and
tropical storm symbols mark the positions of Isabel every 6 hours
beginning at 5 am EDT on September 18 as reported by the National
Hurricane Center.
TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency NASDA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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