Severe Cyclone Tauktae is happening..... moving north up the West India Coastline and strengthening rapidly. It is expected to become a very severe storm (Cat 3) in 48 hours.
Meanwhile back on solid ground, East Africa is looking resplendently verdant this morning. Here in a photo taken by the @NASA Modis satellite.
Eyes in the sky....
There's an unusually clear picture today of the Levant, Israel, Gaza and Jerusalem as the world is watching as the horrific bombardment of Gaza continue. Including today, the bombing of the @AJEnglish and @AP offices.
War crimes are multiplying by the hour.
May 15th 10-Day accumulated rainfall forecasts for North Africa. The CMC and KMA modes forecasts are far more realistic than those of the relatively speaking more senior GFS and ECMWF models.
Two animations of today's formation of clouds from evaporation taking place in the center of the dryest parts of the Sahara in Algeria and Libya today. The first begins late morning....
... and a wider version from the afternoon as the sun sets over the #MiddleEast
This animation shows weather returning to pre-cyclone-formation patterns in the #HornOfAfrica now that Cyclone #Tauktae is moving further way.
Its interesting to me that this includes the easterly high altitude flow towards Oman from the CAR.
Here are today's rainfall forecasts.
The 15th May 10 Day rain forecasts for the #HornOfAfrica however have not returned to pre-#Tauktae patterns however.
Cyclone Tauktae is now onshore over the Indian State of Gujarat India. The storm has weakened since these photos were taken by @NASA Modis this morning, but is still packing 150kmh winds & has done a lot of damage.
Today's satellite presentation of the area has a new feature which has been strengthening over the past few days. A stream of water vapour out of Central Africa & Sudan transiting Chad and Sudan and then the Red Sea near Jeddah.
There is also an increasing amount of activity in the Western Sahara which supports the CMC and KMA model predictions of significant rainfall in these areas in recent forecasts.
The thread concludes (after I had a close look) that actually yesterday the dam broke on the #GazaUnderAttack story on US Cable TV yesterday, most shows covered it, many mentioning the bombing of the @APNews / @AlJazeera building....
Some of the components deserve additional commentary. The ever affable @johndickerson's interview with Netanyahu was I think almost accidentally brilliant, as it provided Bibi with an opportunity to hang himself in his own delusion, it was very Trump.
The time has come for @CNN@MSNBC and @FoxNews to stop hiding and start telling the story of what is happening in Israel-Palestine in a manner that is consistent with professional journalistic norms.
Tonight Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Tauktae is already a Cat 3 Hurricane equivalent Cyclone, 24 hours ahead of schedule and tearing up the West Indian coastline on its way north.
The first shows the positioning of this morning's @NASA Modis picture of Tauktae in relation to the coast. Nearly half the central convection area is over India.
The 2nd shows a wider perspective. & the 3rd provides borders for orientation.