Latest news with #GOES-19
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Climate
- Newsweek
Hurricane Erin Seen From Space as Storm Intensifies
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Satellite imagery from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) on X captured Hurricane Erin swirling over the Atlantic Ocean on Friday as the storm became a Category 1 hurricane. Why It Matters As of the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Erin had maximum sustained windspeeds of 75 miles per hour, making it a Category 1 storm. It's the first hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean this year. An updated forecast map from AccuWeather shows Erin is expected to reach Category 4 strength by Monday afternoon. A Category 4 hurricane has maximum sustained windspeeds between 130 and 156 mph. What To Know On Friday morning, CIRA shared a satellite loop of the storm as it intensified over the ocean. "Erin strengthens, becoming the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic Season," the post said. "This hi-res view shows several lightning flashes within an intensifying storm." Erin strengthens, becoming the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic Season. This hi-res view shows several lightning flashes within an intensifying storm. — CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) August 15, 2025 Other meteorology-based social media accounts also shared satellite images of Erin as it strengthened. "Hurricane Erin is beginning to form an eye," meteorologist Max Velocity posted on X with a loop of the GOES-19 satellite. Hurricane Erin is beginning to form an eye 👀 — Max Velocity (@MaxVelocityWX) August 15, 2025 Velocity added a follow-up post that said Erin's maximum windspeeds could reach up to 145 mph, which would make it a mid-grade Category 4 storm. "Category 5 hurricane intensity is not likely, but cannot be fully ruled out," he posted. A forecast map from the NHC shows Erin retaining major hurricane strength well into the middle of next week. Although the storm is expected to curve northward away from the United States, it could still bring dangerous impacts to the coast. Chances have been rising this week that Erin's impacts would affect parts of the U.S. East Coast, although AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva told Newsweek this doesn't mean the storm will make landfall. Rather it will be large enough and skirt close enough to the coast that tropical rain and wind impacts are likely to be felt. Coastal areas such as the Outer Banks; Long Island, New York; and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are at the highest risk of direct impacts, the AccuWeather report said. Coastal North Carolina and Virginia also face a moderate risk of impacts. What People Are Saying NHC in a public advisory about Hurricane Erin: "Steady to rapid strengthening is expected during the next two to three days, and Erin is forecast to become a major hurricane during the weekend. NOAA and Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft are scheduled to investigate Erin this evening." The advisory added: "The outer bands of Erin are expected to produce areas of heavy rainfall tonight into Sunday across the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals of 6 inches, are expected. This rainfall may lead to isolated and locally considerable flash and urban flooding, along with landslides or mudslides." What Happens Next? Meteorologists will continue monitoring Erin closely as it intensifies. Regular updates will be issued, and people in the path of the storm are urged to follow local weather guidance.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fiery Streak Across The Sky Sparks Buzz In Southeast From Alabama To North Carolina
Did you see the fireball? Text us at (404) 793-7182 and share your images and videos. A "fiery ball" blazing through the midday sky sent residents across parts of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina scrambling for answers on Thursday. The mysterious flaming object turned out to be the result of a bolide, or large meteor, breaking up over the Southeast, creating a fireball. The first sightings began around noon, with multiple people reporting what looked like falling debris, possibly a meteor or asteroid, hurtling across the sky. Reports flooded in from cities including Birmingham, Atlanta, Greenville, and Knoxville, all describing a bright, fast-moving object trailing fire or smoke. According to NASA, this was bolide #681 detected on Earth this year — so not quite as rare of an occurrence as you may think. NOAA's GOES East (GOES-19) satellite captured the event from space. There was at least one report of possible damage in Henry County, Georgia. Stay with us as we continue to follow this developing story. lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Saharan Dust makes its way towards the United States; Will the Triad be impacted?
(WGHP) – A plume of dust from the Sahara desert has been traveling across the Atlantic Ocean making its way to the United States over the last few days. NOAA's GOES-19 satellite has been tracking Saharan dust thousands of miles across the Atlantic from May 28 through June 2. It's common to see plumes of dust from the Saharan desert cross the Atlantic. Typically, the dust gets 'kicked up' into the atmosphere over the Sahara in the late spring, summer and early fall as monsoon season gets started just south of the Saharan desert. The peak of the Saharan dust season is in late June to mid-August, just before the peak of hurricane season, which occurs from mid-August through mid-October. One reason the Triad didn't see high impacts from the most recent plume of dust is due to the weather pattern over our area of the country. The coastal low-pressure system that is bringing rain to the Piedmont Triad on Thursday is helping to keep the dust south of us, creating a bigger impact for those to our south, like Florida and even as far west as Texas. Helene's impact on transportation in western North Carolina details in new report Saharan dust is nothing new. It happens every year around this time. When storms form just south of the Sahara Desert in the Sahel region of Africa, dry, dusty air from the Sahara Desert is kicked up into the atmosphere. This dust can collect in the atmosphere about 5,000 to 20,000 feet above the desert in a 2.5-mile-thick layer known as the Saharan Air Layer. Well, in that layer above the surface are the trade winds, also known as the Harmattan wind. The Harmattan wind sends the dust into the African Easterly Jet that blows from the West Coast of Africa to the United States and carries the dust thousands of miles across the ocean. As that dust moves over the Atlantic, it suppresses tropical cyclone development. The suppression of tropical development is due to the dry, strong winds associated with the Saharan dust, and it 'chokes out' any moisture of tropical cyclones that try to develop. Tropical cyclones need warm, moist air, and the dryness of the dust can cut off the supply of warm, moist air and limit tropical cyclone development in the Atlantic as the dust moves across the ocean. While suppressing tropical cyclone development is one of the main ways that Saharan dust impacts weather conditions, it can also have effects across the United States once it arrives. A few of the impacts include lowered air quality, lowered visibility or haziness and more vibrant sunrises or sunsets. Saharan dust particles are very tiny, and, when sun filters through the particles, it scatters the sunlight even more and allows longer wavelength colors like oranges and reds to reach through and be more intense. The result is more vibrant sunrises and sunsets. However, during the day, the dust makes the sky appear hazy and lowers our typical clear visibility of light blue dust particles in the atmosphere also impact our air quality, so those with any respiratory issues will typically be impacted more when the dust has made its way across the Atlantic. The Saharan dust season has just begun and we'll likely see several more rounds of it as we head through the next few months. The FOX8 Max Weather Team will continue to track the Saharan dust as it moves over the Atlantic and will keep you updated with when it'll arrive and what impacts we could see here at home. For more information on the West African Monsoon Season and Saharan dust, catch 'Beyond the Forecast' only available on our . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sun unleashes jaw-dropping filament eruption — but Earth dodges the blast (photo)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A massive solar filament erupted today (May 7), producing a stunning display that spanned the sun's eastern limb and reached deep into the solar disk. Filaments are cooler, dense ribbons of solar plasma that can hang suspended above the sun's surface by magnetic fields, according to NOAA. When these become unstable, they can erupt dramatically, sometimes launching coronal mass ejections (CMEs) into space — powerful blasts of solar plasma and magnetic fields that can trigger geomagnetic storms here on Earth. However, in today's eruption, the filament was oriented away from Earth, meaning it will have no direct impact on our planet. "The sun is doing just enough to show that it still has what it takes to produce activity while also dodging Earth at all costs," space weather forecaster Sara Housseal wrote in a post on X. The image was captured in remarkable detail by NOAA's GOES-19 spacecraft using its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) telescope called the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) between around 6:30 a.m. EDT and 9:50 a.m. EDT (1030 and 1350 GMT). SUVI watched as the eruptive prominence showcased the sun's dynamic behavior in incredible detail. Although this eruption won't affect Earth, forecasters are still keeping a close eye on solar activity this week. According to the UK Met Office, a combination of a weakening high-speed solar wind stream and possible glancing blows from previous CMEs could trigger auroras at high latitudes late Wednesday (May 7) or early Thursday (May 8), with another chance on Friday (May 9) when another high-speed solar wind stream is expected to strike. Together, these space weather events could produce Minor Geomagnetic Storm (G1) conditions, meaning the aurora could become visible in northern parts of Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, and other high-latitude regions. You can keep up to date with the latest northern lights forecasts, alerts and geomagnetic storm warnings with our aurora forecast live blog.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA video of puzzling 'orb' soaring past sun sparks 'crazy' UFOs theories from viewers
A NASA video of a puzzling 'orb' soaring past the sun has been captured. The footage has sparked some 'crazy' UFOs theories from viewers who spotted the strange object. NASA released the video of the sun which has since gone viral after it showed a large 'orb' traveling past. This has captured the imagination of viewers with some conspiracy theorists claiming that it could be a UFO. This has been argued due to the fact that the object 'stopped, hovered for a bit, moved closer to the sun' and then disappeared completely. Many people have taken to social media to share their own reactions to the video. While some speculated that the orb could be the moon, one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote: 'Bro that's not the moon. I was watching the moon in the sky and it didn't do this.' Another said, 'I wonder if that was the cause of this', sharing an article of the recent power outages in Spain and Portugal. And a third person added: 'I guess we'll just have to settle for no answers — and watch this get swept under the rug, just like the obvious UAPs we see every day.' The video in question was captured on Sunday (April 27) from the GOES-19 satellite's CCOR-1 instrument, which is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The purpose of the shot was to record solar activity happening last week and it's bad news for UFO fans, because it looks like there is a rational explanation for the 'orb'. While it was always highly likely that the object would simply be space debris or an instrument artifact rather than extraterrestrial life, it looks like it isn't either of those things. Instead, it was the moon eclipsing the sun in 'lunar transit', which is something that is only visible in space. NASA has been closely monitoring the sun's activity as it reached its solar maximum which is the time where it experiences its greatest solar activity. The surge has resulted in solar storms and made the northern and southern lights visible in places where they are not usually spotted so easily. Now that the sun has reached the end of its 11-year cycle, its magnetic field will flip, beginning its shift toward solar minimum, which hasn't happened since 2013. It's not immediate but instead is a gradual transition, as Ryan French, who is a solar astrophysicist and contributing writer, spoke to and said: 'In short, there is no specific 'moment' in which the sun's poles flip. It's not like the Earth, where the flip is measured by the migration of the North/South pole.'
