The latest infrared image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite illustrates the growing flood threat from now Tropical Storm Harvey. In the false-color image, acquired at 2:29 p.m. CDT (19:29 UTC) on Aug. 28, 2017, a large area of dark blue and purple centered along the southeastern Texas coast denotes the coldest cloud top temperatures and strongest thunderstorms. A second area of intense precipitation is visible over southeastern Louisiana. Harvey has reemerged over the Gulf of Mexico, but the National Hurricane Center forecasts only a small amount of strengthening before the storm moves slowly north and inland again.

About AIRS
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, AIRS, in conjunction with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit, AMSU, senses emitted infrared and microwave radiation from Earth to provide a three-dimensional look at Earth's weather and climate. Working in tandem, the two instruments make simultaneous observations all the way down to Earth's surface, even in the presence of heavy clouds. With more than 2,000 channels sensing different regions of the atmosphere, the system creates a global, three-dimensional map of atmospheric temperature and humidity, cloud amounts and heights, greenhouse gas concentrations, and many other atmospheric phenomena. Launched into Earth orbit in 2002, the AIRS and AMSU instruments fly onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft and are managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, under contract to NASA. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about AIRS can be found at airs.jpl.nasa.gov.