Suggested Searches

1 min read

Arlene: Early and Short-lived

Instruments:
Arlene: Early and Short-lived
April 20, 2017

When Cyclone Arlene began to build on April 20, 2017, it was an unusual earlybird. Churning in the middle of the ocean, the storm kicked off the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season before promptly winding down on April 21. Hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but meteorologists have noted a fair amount of variability in recent years.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this natural-color image around midday on April 20.

References & Resources

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Pola Lem.

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Tropical Storm Arthur
2 min read

The first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season brought intense rainfall and the threat of flash flooding to…

Article
Tropical Cyclone Narelle Crosses Australia
3 min read

The powerful storm lashed the northern edge of the continent with damaging winds and drenching rain as it made landfall…

Article
Super Typhoon Sinlaku
3 min read

The violent storm aimed at the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands and Guam in mid-April 2026.

Article