NASA’s new Simon satellite images show a storm reaching into the upper atmosphere

NASA Earth Observatory published a new explanation of Hurricane Simon’s satellite images off Mexico’s Pacific coast on 14 October. The pictures themselves were captured on 11 October. A daylight Suomi NPP view shows the storm’s eye, while a NOAA-21 night image reveals ripples high in the atmosphere.

What are the ripples?

Strong updrafts around a hurricane can generate atmospheric gravity waves. NASA explains that faint airglow and favourable lighting made these waves visible. They are neither ocean waves nor a second storm, but a high-altitude effect of the same cyclone.

Read the date on the image

NASA says Simon passed near Mexico’s western coast as a category 4 hurricane on 11 October, bringing strong wind and rain. A four-day-old satellite image cannot tell travellers what conditions are today. Current safety decisions require fresh official weather alerts.

Official source.

Cover image source: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison; VIIRS data from NASA and NOAA.