Satellite Spots New Depression Exactly Between Baja California and Hawaii

This image of the depression was captured by NOAA's GOES-West satellite that showed the storm between Hawaii and Baja California, Mexico. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project

It's a rare thing when a tropical depression develops the same exact distance between two landforms, and newborn Tropical Depression 18E has done that in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. In a visible image created at NASA using NOAA's GOES-West satellite, the depression sits directly between Hawaii and Baja California, Mexico.


At 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. PDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Eighteen-E was located near latitude 11.1 North, longitude 132.0 West. That's about 1,670 miles (2,685 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico and the same distance but east-southeast of South Point, Hawaii!

An image of the depression was captured by NOAA's GOES-West satellite that showed the storm directly between the two land forms. The image was created by the NASA/NOAA GOES Project at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Forecaster Blake at the National Hurricane Center said in a discussion, "Satellite images indicate that the area of low pressure in the far southwestern portion of the eastern Pacific has become better organized. Curved banding features have increased, along with a growing area of deep convection near the center. Thus the system is declared a tropical depression, the 18th of the season."

The depression is moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 kph) and this general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 kph) with higher gusts. Strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and the depression could become a hurricane on Sunday, October 11.

Provided by: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Cente