GOES-18 Air Mass RGB images, from 1530 UTC on 02 January to 1900 UTC on 03 January [click to play animated GIF]

10-minte Full Disk scan GOES-18 (GOES-West) Air Mass RGB images (above) showed a large cyclone as it deepened to a 936 hPa Hurricane Force Low while approaching the Aleutian Islands of Alaska on 02-03 January 2024 (surface analyses). The Sea Level Pressure dropped to at least 945.6 hPa at Dutch Harbor/Unalaska (METAR identifier PADU), which set a new record January minimum pressure for that site.

GOES-18 Air Mass RGB images with plots of Metop ASCAT winds at 2150 UTC on 02 January and 0730 UTC on 03 January (below) depicted wind speeds in the 50-60 knot range to the south and southwest of the low center.

GOES-18 Air Mass RGB images with Metop ASCAT winds plotted in cyan, at 2150 UTC on 02 January and 0730 UTC on 03 January [click to enlarge]

A toggle between GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Wind Speeds (source) at 1332 UTC on 02 January and 0042 UTC on 03 January (below) showed several small pockets of Hurricane Force magnitude (>64 knots, shades of magenta) within the expanding field of strong winds south of the low center on 03 January.

GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Wind Speeds, at 1332 UTC on 02 January and 0042 UTC on 03 January [click to enlarge]

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