August 14, 2021 - Tropical Depression Fred

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On August 12, 2021, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
Tropical Depression Fred centered just north of the island of
Hispaniola. At the time the image was captured, the disorganized system
was facing substantial wind shear, but continued to drop rain on and
bring strong winds to both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued its first advisory on this
system on August 9, when they reported the potential formation of
Tropical Cyclone Six about 165 miles (260 km) east south-east of
Dominica. At that time the potential cyclone carried maximum sustained
winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) but had sparked multiple tropical storm
warnings across the region.

By August 11, when Fred made landfall in the Dominican Republic as a
tropical storm, it carried enough power to topple trees, damage 80
houses, displace about 385 people, and cause power outages to about
400,000 customers in that country, according to media reports. Haiti,
to the west of the Dominican Republic, absorbed substantial rain,
bringing concerns of flooding. At landfall, according to advisories
from the NHC, Fred was carrying maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75
km/h), but interaction with land quickly weakened the system. On the
afternoon of August 13, Tropical Depression Fred made landfall over
central Cuba, bringing heavy rains to that country.

At 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 UTC) on August 13, the NHC advised that the
center of Tropical Depression Fred was located at 22.7N 80.6W, which is
about 45 mi (75 km) southeast of Varadero, Cuba and about 150 I (245
km) south-southeast of Key West, Florida. It was carrying maximum
sustained winds of 35 mph (55 km/h) and was moving west at 12 mph (19
km/h). Interaction with strong shear has diminished the features of the
storm, and the NHC states that it is difficult to determine in infrared
satellite imagery and recent surface observations if a closed
circulation still exists. However, it is still classified as a tropical
depression for now. Little change in strength is expected immediately,
but slow strengthening is likely to return Fred to tropical storm
status by late on August 14.

The NHC forecasts that the storm will begin to move towards the
west-northwest, then turn to the northwest by Saturday. This track will
continue and bring Fred near or west of the lower Florida Keys on
August 14 and across the eastern Gulf of Mexico from August 14-15. The
system is expected to be a rain-make across a wide area, including
western Florida, even though the current forecast track expects Fred’s
center to stay offshore until it reaches the northern Gulf Coast.
Current tracks bring Fred across the western Florida panhandle near
Alabama late on August 15, then likely tracking across Alabama,
Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/12/2021
Resolutions: 1km (583 KB), 500m (1.8 MB), 250m (5.3 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=2021-08-14

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