Archive for NASA GOES Project

Satellite Animation Shows Smoke from California’s Springs Fire


On May 3, 2013, the NOAA GOES infrared and visible imagery were combined to create an animation that showed the plume of smoke from the fire. The smoke plume is seen blowing west and out over the eastern Pacific Ocean. The animation runs 17 seconds and shows the smoke plume from May 3 at 1415 to 2000 UTC (10:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT) was created by the NASA GOES Project, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

According to Reuters news, the Springs Fire has now consumed as much as 28,000 acres of brush in the coastal area located northwest of Los Angeles. The fire started on Thursday, May 2, and by Sunday, May 5, the weather allowed firefighters to put containment lines around the fire.

NOAA’s GOES-15 or GOES-West satellite sits in a fixed orbit that continually monitors the weather over the western U.S.

Text: Robert Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

Article source: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/20130506-CA-Springs.html

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Satellite Image Shows Eastern US Severe Weather System


A powerful cold front moving from the central United States to the East Coast is wiping out spring-like temperatures and replacing them with winter-time temperatures with powerful storms in between. An image released from NASA using data from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite provides a stunning look at the powerful system that brings a return to winter weather in its wake.

On Jan. 30 at 1825 UTC (1:25 p.m. EST), NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite captured an image of clouds associated with the strong cold front. The visible GOES-13 image shows a line of clouds that stretch from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast and contain powerful thunderstorms with the potential to be severe. The front is moving east to the Atlantic Ocean.

NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite continually provides real-time visible and infrared imagery of weather over the eastern United States. The NASA GOES Project, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., created the image from GOES data. The colorized image uses GOES-13 satellite visible data of clouds, and is overlaid on a U.S. map created by imagery from the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer instrument (MODIS), an instrument that flies aboard both the NASA Aqua and Terra satellites.

NOAA’s National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) in Norman, Okla., warned of the risk of severe weather on Jan. 30, stretching from the upper Ohio Valley southward to the central Gulf Coast and eastward to the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern U.S. coast. According to SPC, the main threat will be damaging wind along with the possibility of tornadoes, especially across eastern Alabama into western Georgia.

Early on Jan. 30, officials in Tennessee and Georgia already reported damages from severe storms as the squall line rolled through.

At noon EST on Jan. 30, severe thunderstorm watches were issued by the SPC for several states. The watches include: the western Maryland panhandle, southeast Ohio, southwest Pennsylvania, western Virginia and West Virginia.

This same storm system brought severe weather to the Mississippi Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The storm system has already brought great changes to the Midwest, where Chicago experienced highs in the 60s (F) earlier in the week and today, Jan. 30, is only near 40 F. Chicago is also expecting snow later today and by tomorrow night, Jan. 31, wind chills at night are expected to drop to 10 F to 20 F below zero.

Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Article source: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/weather-20130130.html

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Hurricane Rafael Battering Bermuda Seen By NASA Satellite

Hurricane Rafael is a large hurricane and Bermuda has battened down for Rafael’s battering today, Oct. 16. NOAA’s GOES-14 satellite revealed Rafael’s large span that covers several hundred miles and dwarfs Bermuda.

NOAA’s GOES-14 satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Rafael in the Atlantic on Oct. 16 at 7:45 a.m. EDT. The image shows the extent of Hurricane Rafael, which is over 410 miles in diameter. That’s longer than the distance between Boston and Washington, D.C. The visible image also showed a thick row of clouds northwest of Rafael. Those clouds are associated with a cold front that just moved off the U.S. east coast and they will play a role in pushing Rafael to the east and draw Rafael into the front.

Infrared satellite data also revealed that the coldest cloud top temperatures (indicating the highest cloud tops and strongest thunderstorms) shifted west of Rafael’s center. Those strongest thunderstorms and coldest cloud tops appear as the brightest white area of clouds in the storm on the GOES-14 image.

GOES-14 is operated by NOAA, and the image was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Bermuda today, Oct. 16. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects that Bermuda will see between 2 and 4 inches of rainfall and tropical-storm-force winds. NHC expects the center of Rafael to pass east of Bermuda by this evening. Rafael will continue generating rough surf in Bermuda, eastern-facing beaches of the Bahamas and portions of the United States east coast during the next couple of days.

At 8 a.m. EDT on Oct. 16, Rafael’s center was near latitude 27.3 north and longitude 65.0 west. Rafael was moving toward the north-northeast near 16 mph (26 kph) and is forecast to turn toward the northeast later on Oct. 16. Rafael’s maximum sustained winds were near 85 mph (140 kph), making the storm a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane wind scale.

According to the NHC discussion, Rafael is expected to be over much colder water and merge with the strong cold front seen in the GOES-14 satellite image from today, Oct. 16. The merging of systems should cause Rafael to transition into a large and powerful extra-tropical low that will move eastward over the far north Atlantic.

On The Net:

Article source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112714960/hurricane-rafael-battering-bermuda-nasa-101712/

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NASA sees wind shear battering Tropical Storm Nadine


NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Storm Nadine early on Sept. 13 and saw several factors that indicated the storm was still struggling to achieve hurricane status.

Infrared data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) that flies aboard Aqua found the strongest thunderstorms with very cold cloud temperatures (colder than -63F/-52C) were being pushed east of Nadine’s center by wind shear.

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An animation of satellite observations from Sept. 9-13, 2012, shows large Tropical Storm Leslie north of Bermuda, tiny Hurricane Michael east of Leslie and the development of Tropical Storm Nadine in the central Atlantic. This visualization was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., using observations from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

Although Nadine is expected to reach hurricane status later on Sept.13 or Sept. 14, the storm did not yet develop an eye. The AIRS infrared image also showed that Nadine’s was not symmetric, and a tropical cyclone needs symmetry to intensify. If the moderate southwesterly relaxes, Nadine will have a better chance of intensifying. Satellite data also suggests that intrusion of mid-level dry air, which is also sapping Nadine’s strength.

At 11 a.m. EDT on Sept. 13, Tropical Storm Nadine’s were just under hurricane strength, near 70 mph (110 kmh). The National Hurricane Center noted that Nadine could become a hurricane later on Sept. 13 (today). The center of Tropical Storm Nadine was located near latitude 22.6 north and longitude 52.2 west, about 770 miles (1,235 km) east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands. Nadine is moving toward the northwest near 16 mph (26 kmh) and the National Hurricane Center expects Nadine to turn to the north-northwest and later to the north.

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Article source: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-nasa-battering-tropical-storm-nadine.html

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NASA spies fifth Atlantic hurricane and twelfth tropical depression


On Aug. 30 at 7:45 a.m. EDT, a visible image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite captured all three in a panoramic shot of the . The showed Tropical Storm Isaac over the U.S. Gulf coast, Kirk and 12 in the central Atlantic Ocean. Isaac was by far the largest of the three systems, with cloud cover extending from east Texas to the Carolinas. Hurricane Kirk appeared as a small, rounded , compact storm, located northwest of newborn Tropical Depression 12, which appeared larger than Kirk. The image was created by the NASA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Hurricane Kirk

At 11 a.m. EDT on Aug. 30, Kirk became the fifth hurricane of the Atlantic Ocean season. Its maximum sustained winds were near 75 mph (120 kmh). It was far from land, however, about 1.065 miles (1.715) northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands near 27.2 North and 49.5 West. It was moving to the northwest at 12 mph (19 kmh) and had a minimum central pressure of 989 millibars. The GOES-13 image showed that Kirk was a compact hurricane, and hurricane-force winds only extend 10 miles (20 km) from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 70 miles (110 km).

Tropical Depression 12 Expected to Become Tropical Storm Leslie

On Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. the warm summertime waters of the Atlantic Ocean gave birth to the twelfth tropical depression on the season. Tropical Depression 12 (TD12) had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph (55 km/h), and is expected to become a tropical storm later on Aug. 30 and could become a hurricane over the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

TD12 was also far from land areas, located about 1,185 miles (1,905 km) east of the Windward Islands, near latitude 14.1 north and longitude 43.4 west. TD12 is moving quickly to the west near 20 mph (32 kmh). TD12′s estimated minimum central pressure is 1007 millibars.

Satellite data shows a well-defined curved band of thunderstorms wrapping around the western side of the circulation center.TD12 is expected to move over warm waters which will help it strengthen, and it could become Tropical Storm Leslie later on Aug. 30, or Hurricane Leslie by the weekend of Sept. 2.

*Late Breaking Update: TD12 strengthened into Leslie with are now up to 40 mph. At 2 p.m EDT- Leslie was located 1,125 miles (1,810 km) east of the Windward Islands, near 14.3N and 44.3 W. It was moving to the west at 20 mph (32 kmh).

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Article source: http://phys.org/news/2012-08-nasa-spies-atlantic-hurricane-twelfth.html

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NASA watching Issac’s approach to US Gulf Coast

On Aug. 28 at 8:40 a.m. EDT, a visible image of Tropical Storm Isaac taken from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite showed the huge extent of the storm, where the eastern-most clouds lie over the Carolinas and the western-most clouds are brushing east Texas. The image was created by the NASA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km) from the center of circulation, making the storm about 410 miles in diameter.

Warnings and watches in effect on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2012 are many. A hurricane warning is in effect for east of Morgan City Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida Border, including Metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas. A hurricane watch is in effect for Intracoastal City to Morgan City, Louisiana. Tropical Storm Warnings are in effect from the Alabama-Florida border to the Aucilla River, and Morgan City to Cameron, Louisiana. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect from east of High Island, Texas to just west of Cameron, Louisiana.

An animation of satellite observations from August 26-28, 2012 shows Tropical Storm Isaac moving past the Florida Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico, nearing landfall in the U.S. Gulf states. This visualization was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., using observations from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite.

(Photo Credit: : NASA/NOAA GOES Project)

On Aug. 28 at 8 a.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Issac’s maximum sustained winds were just under hurricane force, at 70 mph (110 kmh). The center of Tropical Storm Isaac was located near latitude 27.8 north and longitude 88.2 west, only about 105 miles (170 km) south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. Isaac is moving northwest at 7 mph (11 kmh) and is expected to continue in that direction for the next day or two, but it’s speed is expected to fluctuate. The National Hurricane Center noted that the center of Isaac will be near or over the Louisiana coast tonight, Aug. 28, or early on Aug. 29.

Storm surge is a deadly part of any landfalling tropical cyclone. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is warning that storm surge will be highest from Isaac from southeastern Louisiana to Mississippi, where surge levels are expected between 6 and 12 feet during times of high tide. Alabama’s coast may experience surge between 4 and 8 feet, while south-central Louisiana and the Florida panhandle can expect between 3 and 6 feet. Florida’s west coast including Apalachee Bay can expect a storm surge between 1 and 3 feet.

The NHC expects hurricane conditions in the northern Gulf Coast warning area during the afternoon of Aug. 28. As conditions worsen, isolated tornadoes are possible as with any landfalling tropical cyclone.

NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has seen large rainfall rates within Tropical Storm Isaac, and those large rainfall rates and slow movement of the storm will lead to high rainfall totals. The National Hurricane Center expects 7 to 14 inches of rain with possible isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches in southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the extreme western Florida Panhandle.

On Aug. 27 at 3:00 pm EDT the AIRS instrument on Aqua captured infrared data on Isaac’s clouds. Cloud top temperatures were colder (purple) than –63F (-52C) around the center of circulation and the western quadrant of the storm, and in a large band of thunderstorms east of the center of circulation, over Florida. That’s where the strongest storms and heaviest rainfall was occurring.

(Photo Credit: : NASA JPL, Ed Olsen)

The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of Tropical Storm Isaac on Aug. 27 at 3:00 pm EDT is it was moving northwest through the Gulf of Mexico. Issac’s large reach is seen by its eastern cloud cover over the entire state of Florida.

(Photo Credit: : NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team)

Article source: http://www.sciencecodex.com/nasa_watching_issacs_approach_to_us_gulf_coast-97438

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NASA sees Tropical Storm Isaac and Tropical Depression 10 racing in Atlantic


Tropical Storm Isaac formed late on Aug. 21 from 9 and immediately caused warnings and watches. Tropical Depression 10 formed during the morning hours on Aug. 22 in the central Atlantic, east of Isaac and appears to be following the tropical storm on NOAA’s GOES-13 . NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Isaac over the Lesser Antilles, and newborn Tropical Depression 10 trailing behind on Aug. 22 at 1445 UTC (10:45 a.m. EDT). The image was created by the NASA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Both storms are showing good circulation.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an of Tropical Storm Isaac on Aug. 22 at 2:05 a.m. EDT, as it was bringing heavy rainfall to the Lesser Antilles. Strong thunderstorms appeared in a band of thunderstorms in Isaac’s western quadrant that had cloud top temperatures as cold as -63F (-52C).


NASA sees Tropical Storm Isaac and Tropical Depression 10 racing in Atlantic
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This visible image captured by NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite on Aug. 22 at 1445 UTC shows Tropical Storm Isaac over the Lesser Antilles, and newborn Tropical Depression 10 trailing behind in the central Atlantic. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

Watches and Warnings in Effect

The National Hurricane Center has posted Warnings and Watches for Tropical Storm Issac. A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe and the surrounding islands, and St. Martin, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, and Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are also hurricane and tropical storm watches in effect. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, and the U.S. and ; the south coast of the Dominican Republic from Isla Saona westward to the Haiti-Domenican Republic southern border. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the north coast of the Dominican Republic from the Haiti-Dominican Republic northern border eastward to north of Isla Saona.

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This animation of satellite observations from August 19-22, 2012, shows the development and movement of Tropical Storm Isaac toward the Lesser Antilles. This visualization was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., using observations from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Aug. 22, Isaac had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph (75 kmh), and the NHC said that strengthening is forecast. Isaac could become a hurricane by Thursday or Thursday night, Aug. 23. The center of Isaac was about 140 miles (230 km) east of Guadaloupe, near latitude 15.9 north and longitude 59.3 west. Isaac is moving westward near 21 mph (33 kmh) is expected to stay on this track over the next couple of days.

The NHC said, “On the forecast track the center of Isaac should move through the Leeward Islands this evening and pass near or south of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Thursday (Aug. 23) and approach the Dominican Republic Thursday night and Friday (Aug. 24).

System 95L Fizzles Out

The third low pressure area that forecasters had been watching for possible development has fizzled out, now that it moved inland in northeastern Mexico. The NHC gives it a “near zero percent” chance of development now.

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Article source: http://phys.org/news/2012-08-nasa-tropical-storm-isaac-depression.html

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NASA provides satellite views of Maryland’s severe weather outbreak


The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite provided both a visible and an infrared look at the severe weather that moved into Maryland on June 1 and generated an astounding number of – nine in all.

Aqua passed over Maryland on June 1 around 18:53 UTC (2:53 p.m. EDT) and AIRS captured data on temperature and cloud heights. The infrared imagery showed that the major activity was located in West Virginia and heading eastward toward Maryland. When cloud temperatures get colder, it means that clouds are getting higher. Building clouds indicate a lot of “uplift” in the atmosphere and stronger thunderstorms.


NASA provides satellite views of Maryland's severe weather outbreak
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This infrared image from the AIRS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite on June 1 at 18:53 UTC (2:53 p.m. EDT) shows the center of the most intense activity over West Virginia. That area appears to have cloud top temperatures between -27F and -45F, and the cloud tops are between 4.6 and 5.6 miles high. Credit: NASA/JPL, Ed Olsen

Ed Olsen of the AIRS Team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. said that the AIRS imagery showed “The center of most intense activity over West Virginia appears to have cloud top temperatures between -27 and -45 Fahrenheit (-33.1 and -43.1 Celsius / 230 and 240 Kelvin), meaning that the cloud tops (assuming U.S. Standard Atmosphere) are between (4.6 and 5.6 miles) 7.5 and 9 kilometers high.”

The data from the AIRS instrument is also used to create an accurate 3-D map of atmospheric temperature, water vapor and clouds, all of which are helpful to forecasters.

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A cold front approaching from the west spawned severe storms along the East Coast, on June 1, 2012, including nine weak tornadoes in Maryland around sunset. From the GOES satellite viewpoint, all that surface action is covered by cloud tops. The image was created by the NASA GOES Project at NASA Goddard. Credit: NASA GOES Project, Dennis Chesters

NOAA’s GOES-13 was providing real-time visible imagery of the severe weather outbreak when tornadoes were touching down around Maryland on June 1. The GOES Project, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. combined the GOES imagery to create an animation of the outbreak. The animation that runs almost eight seconds shows the movement of the severe storms from 1:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. EDT (1745 UTC to 2345 UTC). The colorized full resolution uses the GOES visible data of the clouds, overlaid on a U.S. map created by imagery from the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer instrument (MODIS), an instrument that flies onboard both the NASA Aqua and Terra satellites.

The animation shows a cold front approaching from the west spawned severe storms along the U.S. East Coast, including 9 weak tornadoes in Maryland around sunset. From the GOES viewpoint, all that surface action is covered by cloud tops.

Baltimore Meteorologist Justin Berk compiled a listing of the individual tornadoes. The ten tornadoes include: An EF-1 tornado with 90 mph winds in Pleasant Hills, Harford County; An EF-0 tornado started near Fort Meade and moved to BWI Marshall Airport; another tornado (not rated yet) in Gamber, Carroll County; an EF-O in Centreville in Queen Anne’s County, Md. ; Two possible EF-0 tornadoes in Damascus, Montgomery County; An EF-0 at Springdale, Prince George’s County (just outside the Washington, D.C. beltway); An EF-1 touched down in Watersville, Howard County; another EF-0 tornado touched down in Mount Airy in Carroll County; and another tornado (not yet rated) made an appearance in Simpsonville, Howard County.

More information: For the complete listing of tornado reports, visit: http://www.spc.noa … 01_rpts.html

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Article source: http://phys.org/news/2012-06-nasa-satellite-views-maryland-severe.html

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NASA’s New Satellite Movie of One Week’s Ash Activity from Mexico’s …


Satellites continue to provide a look at the ash and gas clouds being emitted from Mexico’s Popocatepetl Volcano. NASA has animated imagery from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite to provide a week long look at the volcano’s activity.

“Most of the time, the prevailing westerly winds carry the debris (ash and smoke) far to the east in the mornings, while the daily rains bring down the ash before it can go far in the afternoon,” said Dennis Chesters, of the NASA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-13, captures visible and infrared images of weather over the eastern U.S. every 15 minutes, and spotted an ash and gas cloud streaming from Mexico’s Popocatepetl Volcano over the period from April 14 through April 22, 2012. The one minute, 14 second black and white video covers shows the volcano’s ash mostly blowing to the southeast. NOAA operates the GOES series of satellites, and NASA’s GOES Project, at NASA Goddard compiles the images into animations.

Over the course of a week, the light brown cloud of ash and smoke can be seen streaming from Popocateptl, and then the white, puffy cumulus clouds develop in the afternoon and sometimes bring rain.


This visible image of the ash plume (light brown) from the Popocatepetl volcano in northern Mexico was captured on April 20,2012 at 16:45 UTC (12:45 p.m. EDT) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite. The ash was blowing over the town of Puebla, located east of the volcano. (Credit: NASA Goddard’s MODIS Rapid Response Team)

› Larger image

Popocatepetl is located about 34 miles (55 kilometers east of Mexico City. More than 30 million people live within sight of the volcano. “Popocatepetl” is the Aztec word for “smoking mountain,” and is North America’s second-highest volcano.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), on April 17, the volcano’s gas and ash plume reached a height of about 980 feet (~300 meters), spreading ash in the nearby town of Puebla. The Alert level at the volcano remains at “Yellow Phase Three,” according to Mexico’s National Center for Prevention of Disasters (CENAPRED).That alert means explosive activity could escalate, there may be growth of domes or expulsion of magma, and ash could rain on populated areas.

Related Link

› Popocatepetl Update for April 20, 2012
Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

Article source: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/mex-volcano-20120423.html

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