Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired July 18, 2005 1400 x 1800 727 KB - JPEG
Data acquired July 18, 2005 2800 x 3600 2 MB - JPEG
Despite its encounter with land, Hurricane Emily retained the characteristic swirling form of a hurricane when it emerged over the Gulf of Mexico on July 18, 2005. The Terra MODIS instrument captured this image at 12:10 p.m. local time in Cancun, Mexico, just after Emily returned to open waters. At this time, the storm was a Category 1 storm with winds of 65 knots (about 75 miles per hour; 1knot = 1.15 mph).
The National Hurricane Center predicts that Emily will regain strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, possibly becoming a Category 3 storm before going ashore near the Mexico-U.S. border on July 19.
Emily is a record-setting storm for many reasons. When it formed on July 11, Emily became the earliest (fifth) named storm on record. As it moved through the Caribbean, Emily intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm with winds over 130 knots and gusts as high as 160 knots, making it the most powerful storm to form before August. The previous record was set by Hurricane Dennis, which ripped through the Caribbean during the first week of July 2005. Emily´s Category 4 status also made 2005 the only year to produce two Category 4 storms before the end of July.
Jeff Schmaltz
Published January 5, 2005 Data acquired July 18, 2005