NASA is amongst the world’s leading space research organizations and as such as well-placed to study natural phenomenon that require remote-sensing capabilities. NASA makes good use of the technology at its disposal to study hurricanes and typhoons and the data gathered helps forecasters make more accurate predictions about these phenomena and their behavior during the span of their life. This information is important as it enables a city or region to prepare in advance for an incoming hurricane. Way back in the 60s, NASA had launched the world’s first weather satellite – the TIROS-1. This enabled weather stations in the US to see a hurricane developing on the other side of the Atlantic giving them ample time to track its path and raise a warning if it were seen to be heading for the American shores. 

Today NASA has many satellites in orbit to help predict a storm’s behavior. The satellites gather information on wind speed and direction, ocean temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc. The data gathered helps NASA track changes in the global water cycle and rainfall levels. It also enables them to improve long-term weather forecasting. The computer modeling and airborne datasets at NASA’s disposal help the National Hurricane Center with their forecasting. 
 

Here it is important to understand that a hurricane or typhoon is the severest form of tropical cyclone with wind speeds greater than 155 mph. A tropical storm can have wind speeds touch 73 mph. Storms chiefly originate over warm tropical waters located between 8° and 20° North and South latitude. The surface sea temperature is usually around 26- 27 degree Celsius. 

American air force pilots also fly into the center of hurricanes to get readings on pressure, humidity, wind velocity, etc.

Winds are a crucial component of a storm, they can either help a storm build or destroy it by creating a shear. The QuikSCAT satellite deployed by NASA can detect the buildup of surface winds before any other instrument out there. Thus it’s a valuable early warning system for weather forecasters. It can also detect changes in the wind direction and speed and hence find out if wind shear will separate the low-level spinning winds from the deep thunderclouds. 

NASA keeps a watch on sea-water temperatures in regions where hurricanes are born; any increase in temperature causes the evaporated vapor to rise and this fuels the wind movements. NASA uses the Aqua satellite’s Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite’s Microwave Imager to detect sea-surface temperature through the clouds. The height of the ocean is also measured as it is a key component in the building of a tropical storm or a hurricane.