Tropical Cyclone Ingrid is slowing inching its way west, southwest over the Coral Sea towards Queensland, Australia. The storm developed into a cyclone early on March 6, 2005, and quickly intensified into a massive Category 4 storm. On March 7, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image, the storm had winds of 220 kilometers per hour (140 mph) with gusts to 270 kph (170 mph). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Ingrid to continue to intensify as it moves closer to northeastern Australia, possibly coming ashore as early as March 9.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. The image is available in additional resolutions.