CloudSat completed a stunning eye overpass of Typhoon Dolphin in the West Pacific on May 16, 2015 at 0407 UTC. Dolphin contained estimated maximum winds of 125 knots (144 mph) and minimum pressure of 934 hPa (equivalent to a category 4 strength hurricane). Dolphin continued rapidly intensifying and in less than 24 hours after the CloudSat overpass, Typhoon Dolphin strengthened into a category 5 strength system, the fifth category 5 system this year.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured the infrared (IR) image taken a few minutes before the CloudSat overpass (the blue line A-> B on Figures 1 and 2). Figure 2 from MTSTAT, 4km remapped and color enhanced infrared (IR) imagery reveals the cold cloud tops surrounding the center of the storm. Figure 3 depicts the CloudSat 1B-CPR imagery of the overpass. Figure 4 is a time lapsed animation combing MTSTAT imagery and the CloudSat overpass. Figure 5 combines MTSTAT and CloudSat imagery into a 2D image.
CloudSat overpassed directly through the eye of the system detailing the outward sloping eyewall, intense convection and rainfall in the surrounding eyewall and overall cloud structure. This is one of several direct eye overpasses CloudSat has completed during the last nine years in orbit.
Figure 1. MODIS imagery with CloudSat track (blue line A->B) of Typhoon Dolphin.
Figure 2. 4km Remapped Color Enhanced Infrared Imagery (courtesy RAMMB).
Figure 3. CloudSat 1B-CPR imagery of Typhoon Dolphin.