Multiple Cyclones in the Indian Ocean

Multiple Cyclones in the Indian Ocean

A train of four tropical cyclones is still lined up in the southern Indian Ocean east of Madagascar (left) on Feb. 12, 2003. This true-color image of the storms was made from observations collected by alternating passes of the Aqua and Terra satellites. The cyclones pictured are (west to east) Gerry, Hape, 18S, and Fiona. Each of the storms appears to have followed the track predicted for it at the time of the first image in the series, captured on Feb, 11. In this image, the storms are generally east or southeast of where there were previously.

Terra passed over this area in the morning, moving east to west, and contributing the first and third chunks of the image (from right to left). Aqua passed over in the afternoon, also moving east to west, contributing the second and fourth chunks.

The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at a spatial resolution of 500 meters.

Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC