Satellite imagery of sea surface temperature cooling in the wake of Hurricane Edouard (1996)

It is well documented that in the wake of a hurricane there is significant cooling of sea surface temperature (SST). Figure 1 represents a dramatic recent example of such cooling observed from satellite radiometer data after the passage of Hurricane Edouard (1996) off the east coast of the United States. The figure is a composite of SSTs derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data broadcast over 3 days (0531 UTC 31 August 1996-1001 UTC 3 September 1996) by the polar-orbiting NOAA-12 and NOAA-14 satellites. This sea surface temperature image clearly shows a swath of water approximately 4 degree C less than the surrounding water centered slightly east of the track of Hurricane Edouard's eye. In this paper, we describe the process used to construct Fig. 1 from AVHRR data. We also review the various mechanisms by which hurricanes induce SST cooling.