image: NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Hilary on July 27 at 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 UTC) that indicated it was dealing with some vertical wind shear. view more
Credit: Credits: NASA/NOAA GOES Project
NOAA's GOES-West satellite revealed that vertical wind shear is affecting Hurricane Hilary.
NOAA's GOES-West satellite captured an infrared image of Hurricane Hilary on July 27 at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC). The image revealed the storm remains somewhat sheared, as clouds appeared pushed east of the center. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said shortwave infrared imagery suggests that much of the western semicircle of the circulation has exposed during the morning hours on July 27.
NOAA manages the GOES series of satellites, and NASA uses the satellite data to create images and animations. The image was created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
At 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 UTC) on July 27 the center of Hurricane Hilary was located near 17.6 degrees north latitude and 116.0 degrees west longitude. That's about 540 miles (865 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico.
Hilary was moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 kph), and a general west-northwest motion is expected for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 80 mph (130 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 986 millibars.
The National Hurricane Center expects slight weakening during the next 48 hours, but Hilary is expected to be at or near hurricane strength until the weekend.
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For updated forecasts, visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.