Ethiopian Highlands, Birthplace of Hurricane Sandy NASA

 This animation follows Hurricane Isabel (2003) from its birthplace in the Ethiopian Highlands of East Africa, across the Atlantic Ocean, to the United States.

Atlantic hurricanes are often formed as winds over the Gulf of Aden intersect with the Ethiopian Highlands.

This animation zooms into the Ethiopian Highlands and shows several storms being formed. Then, the animation dissolves in a reticle to focus in specifically on the formation of Hurricane Isabel.
The reticle follows the storm across Africa and into the Atlantic. The path and intensity of Hurricane Isabel is depicted by a colored path.

Blue represents the genesis of the storm.
Green is a Tropical Depression where winds are less than 39 miles per hour.
Yellow is a Tropical Storm where winds are between 39 and 73 miles per hour.
Red is a category 1 hurricane where winds are between 74 and 95 miles per hour.
Light Red is a category 2 hurricane with winds between 96 and 110 miles per hour.
Magenta is a category 3 hurricane with winds between 111 and 130 miles per hour.
Light magenta is a category 4 hurricane with winds between 131 and 154 miles per hour.
White represents a category 5 hurricane where winds are greater than 155 miles per hour.

Note how Isabel gains size and speed over the warm waters of the Atlantic. Note: This is where Hurricane Isabel was born on August 25, 2003. The movie follows the storm from this point until it makes landfall on September 18, 2003 in North Carolina.

Data Collected: Infrared Global Geostationary Composite 2003/08/20 - 2003/09/19, TRMM/3B42RT 2003/08/27 - 2003/09/19. T