Hurricane Fabian Northeast of Bermuda

Hurricane Fabian Northeast of Bermuda. The MODIS instrument onboard the NASA´s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Hurricane Fabian 24 hours after the storm wreaked havoc on the tiny island of Bermuda. At the time this image was taken, Fabian was still packing sustained winds near 110 mph but was expected to begin weaking as a result of encountering cooler ocean temperatures.

Hurricane Fabian was a powerful Cape Verde hurricane that hit Bermuda in early September during the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Fabian was the most recent major hurricane to directly impact Bermuda until Hurricane Nicole of 2016. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and first major hurricane of the season, developed from a tropical wave in the tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 25. It moved west-northwestward under the influence of the subtropical ridge to its north, and steadily strengthened in an area of warm water temperatures and light wind shear. The hurricane attained a peak intensity of 145 mph (230 km/h) on September 1, and it slowly weakened as it turned northward. On September 5, Fabian made a direct hit on Bermuda with wind speeds of over 120 mph (195 km/h). After passing the island, the hurricane turned to the northeast, and became extratropical on September 8, before dissipating two days later

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC