image: NASA's RapidScat instrument analyzed TD14E's surface winds on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m. EDT. Strongest winds (dark red) were north and northeast of the center, and measured near 27 meters per second (60.4 mph/97.2 kph). view more
Credit: Credits: NASA JPL, Doug Tyler
NASA's RapidScat instrument observed tropical storm-force winds in the Eastern Pacific Ocean's Tropical Depression 14E or TD14E that helped forecasters see it was strengthening.
TD14E became a tropical storm and was renamed Kevin at 5 a.m. EDT on Thursday, September 3, 2015.
NASA's RapidScat instrument that flies aboard the International Space Station analyzed the depression's surface winds on Wednesday, September 2 at 1400 UTC (10 a.m. EDT). At that time the strongest winds were north and northeast of the center, and measured near 27 meters per second (60.4 mph/97.2 kph). However, sustained winds on the west and southwestern quadrants were near 12 meters per second (26.8 mph/43.2 kph) or less.
By September 3 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) the National Hurricane Center noted that those tropical-storm-force winds had spread around the storm. In the NHC discussion, NHC noted that "ASCAT data indicate that the cyclone is producing a sizable area of 35-knot winds, especially beneath a burst of deep convection which has persisted during the past few hours." ASCAT is the Advanced Scatterometer instrument that flies aboard Europe's (EUMETSAT) MetOp-A and MetOp-B satellites.
The center of Tropical Storm Kevin was located near latitude 17.5 North and longitude 115.3 West. That's about 510 miles (825 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 millibars.
Maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (65 kph) and the National Hurricane Center expects little change in strength during the next day or so. Kevin is expected to remain a tropical storm through Friday, September 4.
There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.
Kevin was moving toward the north near 6 mph (9 kph) and is expected to turn toward the north-northwest late on September 4.
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