The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) aboard the OrbView-2 satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Storm Bonnie in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Charley in the Caribbean Sea on August 11, 2004, at 2 p.m. EDT. At the time this image was taken, Bonnie had maximum sustained winds of 105 km per hour (65 mph) while Charley had just reached hurricane strength with maximum sustained winds of 120 km per hour (75 mph). Both storms are expected to impact Florida over the next 48 hours.
The NOAA-National Weather Service Tropical Prediction Center reports that Bonnie is moving toward the northeast at about 19 km per hour (12 mph) and appears headed for the Florida panhandle. A hurricane warning is in effect for portions of Florida from Destin eastward to the mouth of the Suwannee River. The storm is expected to pick up speed as it approaches land, while remaining about the same in intensity.
Situated due south of Cuba’s eastern tip in this scene, Charley is moving at 27 km per hour (17 mph) west-northwest toward the Cayman Islands. A hurricane warning is in effect for many of the islands in this region, including the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Florida Keys.
NASA image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE