Hurricane simulation. This screenshot is from the award-winning simulation 'Towers in the Tempest', produced by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio in 2007. This overhead view shows the early stages in the formation of a phenomenon known as a 'hot tower', which conveys energy rapidly to higher levels within the hurricane, intensifying its strength. The difference in wind speeds (blue arrows) between the calm central eye and the winds in the eye wall, causes vortices (red) to form. These vortices force incoming air upwards to form a 'hot tower'. This simulation was based on observations of Hurricane Bonnie using the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRRM) spacecraft.