NASA publishes an infrared look at Hurricane Florence | Global distribution



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All eyes turned to Hurricane Florence on Wednesday as the Category 3 storm headed for the east coast of the United States. NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument also looked at and captured new images of the approaching storm.

AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), detects infrared and microwave radiation emitted by the Earth to provide a three-dimensional overview of weather and climate conditions. He acquired infrared and visible light images at 13:30. EDT Wednesday. In the infrared image, a symmetrical ring of deep and cold rain clouds appears in purple. Warmer areas, including a well-defined eye, are indicated in blue. The shallower rain clouds are indicated in green, while the red areas are mostly cloudless and away from the storm. The image of visible light shows Florence as our eyes would see it. It shows the thick cloud of the storm with clouds that extend far from the eye of the storm.

Jet propulsion laboratory photo courtesy

Hurricane Florence experienced a rapid intensification from a Category 2 storm to a Category 4 storm earlier this week. Although it was downgraded to category 3 on Wednesday, the storm remains large and powerful with the potential for devastating winds, rain and storm surges. Emergency conditions have already been declared in several coastal states.

Launched into orbit in 2002, the AIRS and AMSU instruments fly aboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California under contract with NASA. JPL is a division of Caltech of Pasadena.

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