September 10, 1961 - First Hurricane Seen From Space

Randi MannDigital Reporter
Published on Sep. 10, 2020, 10:06 AM

Hurricane Esther is the first tropical disturbance that was spotted and followed from space.

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On September 10th, 1961, the Television Infrared Observation Satellite, or TIROS III, spotted thunderstorms just southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands.

The thunderstorms would eventually be named Hurricane Esther, after a ship confirm stormed circulation and a reconnaissance plane measured hurricane-level winds.

Hurricane Esther was an aggressive first tropical storm to track, as it turned into a category 3 on September 13, and continued at that strength for three days.

Hurricane Esther

Track of Hurricane Esther 1961 (Courtesy of Unisys)

The satellite tracked Esther as she caused havoc along the Atlantic seaboard. The storm was tracked until it lost steam on September 27th, but it certainly caused its fair share of damage.

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Listen to today's "This Day In Weather History” to hear all about the destructive path of the first tropical storm that was tracked by a satellite.

"This Day In Weather History” is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei.

Thumbnail courtesy of NASA/USWB