Tropical Cyclone Pat

Tropical Cyclone Pat raged over the Southern Pacific Ocean in early February 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image at 10:10 a.m. February 10, New Zealand time (21:10 February 9, UTC). Pat shows a discernible eye, and extends spiral arms hundreds of kilometers over the open ocean.
At 10:00 p.m. New Zealand time (09:00 UTC) on February 10, 2010, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that Pat was roughly 195 nautical miles (360 kilometers) north of Rarotonga, having traveled toward the south-southwest over the previous several hours. The JTWC reported that Pat was expected to lose intensity as it moved over ocean waters less favorable to cyclone formation.