System 98S (Southern Indian Ocean)

System 98S has been battered with wind shear over the last couple of days and is still holding together as a tropical depression. Infrared satellite imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed an area of strong convection and thunderstorms around the low pressure area's center yesterday, indicating that the low is maintaining strength even in adverse conditions.

On March 16, System 98S was located about 615 nautical miles southeast of Diego Garcia, near 14.2 South latitude and 80.3 East longitude in the Southern Indian Ocean. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite has been capturing imagery of the low pressure area and today showed that the low level circulation center east of the main area of convection is partially exposed to outside winds.

AIRS infrared imagery also showed that convection had begun flaring or increasing on the western side of the circulation center during the morning hours, indicating strengthening. Flaring convection means the creation of more towering thunderstorms. Thunderstorms power a tropical cyclone. There was also an indication in microwave satellite imagery that thunderstorms were wrapping around the low level center.

Hurricane Earl

Hurricane Earl's movement north were captured from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) that flies aboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. MODIS on Terra captured an image of Earl on Sept. 3 at 12:04 p.m. EDT when it was located east of the Virginia coast. MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Earl as it was parallel to the Maryland coast at 1:50 p.m. EDT. On Saturday, Sept. 4 at 1:15 p.m. EDT, MODIS on the NASA Terra satellite captured Earl when it was a tropical storm over Nova Scotia, Canada

Tropical Depression 3

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center have been monitoring System 97L for days now with NOAA and NASA satellite data, ship and buoy observations. At 11 a.m. EDT this morning, July 22, System 97L strengthened and organized into the third tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean hurricane season triggering warnings for the Bahamas and Florida.

At 1100 a.m. EDT the center of newly formed tropical depression three (TD3) was located near latitude 21.9 north and longitude 75.0 west. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. TD3 is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph and it is expected to continue in this direction with an increase in forward speed during the next 48 hours. Estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 millibars. The depression could become a tropical storm later today.

Tropical Depression 2 (Gulf of Mexico)

The GOES-13 satellite that monitors U.S. East Coast weather captured a visible image of Tropical Depression Two today, July 8 at 10:31 a.m. EDT, and it showed disorganization with several areas of clouds near the south Texas coast. Meanwhile, NASA's Aqua satellite showed the storm has weak convection.

The second tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean season formed last night at 11 p.m. EDT in the Gulf of Mexico. It was formerly known as System 96L.

Because Tropical Depression 2 is so close to the south Texas and northeastern Mexico coastlines warnings are in effect. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Coast of Texas south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande and for the coast of Mexico from the mouth of the Rio Grande to Rio San Fernando. As the depression makes landfall today the tropical storm warnings are expected to be discontinued.

Just 12 hours after formation, the poorly organized Tropical Depression Two was poised to make landfall in southern Texas as 11 a.m. EDT. At that time its center was located about 30 miles east-southeast of Brownsville, Texas near 26.0 North and 97.0 West. Tropical Depression Two's maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph, and it is moving northwest near 15 mph. TD2 has a minimum central pressure of 1007 millibars.

Tropical System 96L - Gulf of Mexico

System 96L looks like an oval-shaped area of clouds in a recent visible satellite image from the GOES-13 satellite. The National Hurricane Center noted that it now has a 50% chance of development into a tropical depression by sometime on Thursday.

GOES-13 is one of a two Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites that monitor weather over the U.S. GOES-13 covers the eastern U.S. and GOES-11 covers the western U.S. Both satellites are managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES-13 captured a visible image of System 96L on July 7 at 1732 UTC (1:32 p.m. EDT), and its broad area of clouds covered the western Gulf of Mexico, stretching from the Yucatan Peninsula north to the Texas coast.

System 96L is an elongated area of low pressure and is moving west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. Its center is near 23.3 North latitude and 93.3 West longitude. Shower and thunderstorm activity has ramped up and is more concentrated about 300 miles east-southeast of the Texas/Mexico border. That increase in showers and thunderstorms is happening near the southern part of the low pressure area.

The National Weather Service said that "Conditions appear conducive for development and a tropical depression could form before the system reaches the coast of northeastern Mexico or southern Texas on Thursday."

Even if System 96L doesn't develop into a tropical depression, it is still forecast to bring locally heavy rains and gusty winds to portions of eastern Texas and northeastern Mexico during the next few days.

Outside of System 96L, tropical cyclone formation is not expected anywhere else in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico during the next 48 hours.