Since 1981, six Atlantic Basin tropical storms have been named Emily. During this time five NOAA geostationary operational environmental satellites have been used to capture imagery and track movements of her latest incarnations. This unique capability provides constant monitoring of our atmosphere to fulfill NOAA's ongoing mission to protect the lives and property of our citizens.

In 1981 GOES-5 followed Emily as she moved from the Bahamas north into the Atlantic. In 1987 she menaced Hispaniola as captured by GOES-7, an unfortunate tendency she showed in subsequent years. GOES-7 again imaged Emily in 1993 as she meandered in the Atlantic, coming close to Hatteras, NC before heading back into open waters. In 1999 GOES-8 took images of Tropical Storm Emily, one of a series of tropical waves from the African coast in mid-August. GOES-12 was on hand to capture the most prolific Hurricane Season on record, finding Emily again in the Caribbean moving west and triggering heavy rains and mudslides in Jamaica. This year GOES-13 captured Emily once again bringing misery to Hispaniola.

This continuity of operation reveals the strength of the GOES Program for providing the nations of the western hemisphere with timely and accurate weather forecasts and for tracking destructive storms such as Emily. No other system has the ability to observe weather events from birth to death, or to provide relevant guidance for emergency managers and citizens alike to make informed decisions regarding the safety of themselves and others.