NOAA-NESDIS
Regional And Mesoscale Meteorology Team
Daily Satellite Discussion
Wednesday December 10, 1997
12 hr 10.7 micron average image 26 October 1996
(click to enlarge)
Heavy rain and flooding was the result of an Easterly wave interacting with an upper level trough for the Southern Windward Islands. This heavy rain event, which took place October 26, 1996, dumped as much as 250 mm (10 inches) of rain on the island of St. Lucia in the 6 hour period 1200 to 1800 UTC. The 5 frame loop depicts a running average of 3 hour intervals, starting at 9:15 UTC on October 26 and ending at 22:15 UTC on that same day. The color table has been rolled to show the coldest cloud tops in yellow to be between -66 and -69 deg. C, where the red represents cloud top temperatures in the -63 to -65 deg. C range. The single image is a 12 hour average within the same time period. The arrow points to St. Lucia where the heaviest rain fell.

The Barbados sounding for 1200 UTC 26 October showed a layer between 800 and 500 mb with humidities in excess of 80 percent. In Barbados, the passage of the wave axis brought an increase in cloudiness and showers during the period 00 UTC to 1200 UTC on the 26th, with only 7.1 mm of rainfall being recorded at the station there.

At the upper levels, a trough along 55 degress W on the previous day moved slowly westward to be located along 59 degress W at 1200 UTC on October 26, at which time a cyclonic circulation was centered near 15 degrees N 59 deg. W. By 00 UTC 27 October, the trough was located near 63 degrees W.

Click here for the IR running mean loop.
Carol Vaughn

We welcome your comments and discussion at ramsdis@comet.ucar.edu

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