As Hurricane Zeta made its way to the North Bay coast today (October 26), the International Space Station took some incredible views of the storm from orbit.
The space station passed over the jet before 1pm EDT (1700 GMT) as external cameras recorded video of the powerful hurricane. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), now a second-class storm in the division, Jita is expected to land in southeastern Louisiana this afternoon.
Video: Hurricane Zeta was spied on by the space station in a surprising period of time
Related: How Earth orbiting satellites are tracking the 2020 hurricane season
The International Space Station can only see the storm as its orbit moves above the revolving cloud, with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) closely monitoring the hurricane jet, including a suite of Earth observation satellites.
NOAA’s GEOS-East satellite, which regularly monitors the US East Coast from geostationary orbit, recorded a timeless video showing the winning movement from Tuesday night (October 27) to Wednesday (October 27).
Tropical update: @ Noah’s #GOS16🛰️ is using high-resolution visual imagery to track #HurricanZeta as it reaches the Gulf Coast this afternoon. # Zita now has winds of 100 mph and # Hurricane Warning is taking effect. Latest: https://t.co/VTAp4gGkHs. #Lawx #MSwx pic.twitter.com/uuG1HbScjAOctober 28, 2020
In an update released by the EDT (1900 GMT) at 3 p.m., the NHC said Hurricane Zeta was “an hour or two” away from making the landfall, with the storm’s eye located about 125 miles (205 kilometers) southwest of Newark. Orleans, with the most sustainable wind speed of 105 miles per hour (165 kilometers).
“Recent data from the Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicates that the jet’s maximum wind has increased by 105 miles (165 km) with higher grass and the central pressure has decreased to 973 MB,” the NHC update noted, “Barometric pressure millibars.” It is expected that Jita Safir-Simpson will maintain Division 2 intensity on the hurricane wind scale until the initial landing in southeastern Louisiana this afternoon. “
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