typhoon NESAT TRMM

JUNE 1, 2005 0043 UTC

JUNE 6, 2005 0732 UTC

TYPHOON NESAT SKIRTS WEST PACIFIC

Despite reaching Category 4 intensity east of the Philippines, Typhoon Nesat has remained over open waters and not resulted in any damage. Nesat became a depression on the 27th of May 2005 east of the Yap Islands in the western Pacific. The system then moved west and began to intensify, passing north of the Yap Islands and south of Guam, before entering the southern Philippine Sea as a minimal typhoon.

Since its launch in 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote ocean areas. The first image was taken by TRMM at 00:43 UTC on the 1st of June when Nesat was a tropical storm southwest of Guam. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. Rain rates in the center portion of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows good banding (green arcs) in Nesat's outer rainbands but no eye. A couple of isolated areas of heavier rain (red) are present south of the center.

Nesat continued to intensify becoming a Category 4 typhoon on the 3rd of June with maximum sustained winds estimated at 125 knots (144 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Nesat then turned more towards the north, sparing the Philippines. Nesat weakened slightly on the 4th and 5th before regaining strength on the 6th. The second image was taken by TRMM at 07:32 UTC on the 6th of June. The PR shows a well-defined center with a continuous area of intense rainfall (dark red area) in the northern semi-circle of the eye. Tight banding is also visible in the surrounding rain bands, which contain widespread areas of heavy rain (dark red areas). These features are commonly associated with a mature intense cyclone. At the time of this image, Nesat had sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) by Joint Typhoon Warning Center.