February 11, 2023 - Severe Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle

Gabrielle
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Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle sprung to life over the Coral Sea about 100
km (62 miles) off the coast of Queensland, Australia on February 8,
2023, and began to quickly intensify. By February 9, Gabrielle had
become a Severe Tropical Cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 100
mph (161 km/h), placing it at Category 2 strength on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Wind Scale—and was still intensifying as it appeared to be
making a beeline to New Zealand’s North Island.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Severe Tropical
Cyclone Gabrielle on the afternoon of February 9, as the storm was
strengthening. The convective bands of the large system stretched from
eastern Queensland to New Caledonia, bringing gusting winds, surf and
rain to both. Queensland can be seen to the west of Gabrielle while New
Caledonia, located to the southeast of the storm, is out of view just
off the edge of the image.

On the day the image was captured, as Gabrielle neared its peak
strength, the New Zealand Emergency Management Minister warned
residents of North Island, particularly Auckland, to prepare for the
worst, as Gabrielle is expected to pass close by between February
11-12. The small Norfolk Island, home to about 2,400 souls, declared a
Red Alert, expecting the cyclone to make landfall sometime between
February 10-11.

Fortunately, after peaking at 105 mph (169 km/h) early on February 10,
Gabrielle began to rapidly weaken. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology
(BOM) has kept the Red Alert for the Norfolk Islands, but it appears
likely that the center of the storm is likely to pass just offshore
rather than a direct hit. Steeply decreased winds will help islanders
greatly, although high waves, wind, and rain is likely to still prove
destructive.

At 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 UTC) on February 10, the Joint Typhoon Warning
Center (JTWC) issued its last advisory on Gabrielle. At that time,
maximum sustained winds had dropped to 63 mph (101 km/h) and the center
was located about 671 miles (1,080 km) northwest of Auckland, New
Zealand, which also means it was closely approaching Norfolk Island. At
that time, satellite imagery showed that the storm’s low-level
circulation had become ragged and fully exposed as central convection
rapidly collapsed and became severely sheared. Maximum significant wave
height was 35 feet (10.7 meters). The JTWC will monitor the system for
regeneration.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 2/9/2023
Resolutions: 1km (1.6 MB), 500m (1.2 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-02-11

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