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Super Typhoon Haitang
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Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Typhoon Haitang has been gradually building up strength in the northwest Pacific ocean several hundred kilometers from the Mariana Islands. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 04:10 UTC on July 14, 2005 (20:10 Eastern Daylight Time on July 13, 2005). At this time, the typhoon was just beginning to acquire the spiral pattern of a tropical cyclone, with winds reaching 140 kilometers per hour (75 knots). Haitang was heading roughly westward at around 22 km/hr (12 knots) towards Luzon. However, its path is predicted to swing gradually northward to take it north of Taiwan and ultimately into the Chinese coastline near Shanghai. If the typhoon continues to strengthen according to predictions, it will have steady winds as high as 220 km/hr (120 knots) when it makes landfall. However, predicting hurricane strength and intensity remains an inexact science, so communities throughout the potentially affected area keep a wary eye on this threatening storm. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
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Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Haitang is shown here on the morning of July 20, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 05:15 UTC (3:15 p.m. local time), well after it come ashore onto mainland China and lost much of its power and been downgraded to a tropical storm. Four deaths in Taiwan are attributed to the storm as it passed over the island, and as many as 1 million people have been evacuated in mainland China. All flights out of the cities of Fuzhou and Quanzhou were cancelled in view of the danger of the storm. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
| Title |
Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Haitang is shown here bearing down on Taiwan on the afternoon of July 17, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 04:40 UTC (12:40 p.m. Taipei time). At this time, the typhoon had built into a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, sufficient for it to be dubbed a super typhoon. Sustained winds were around 230 kilometers per hour (125 knots) with peak gusts as high as 280 km/hr (150 knots). The super typhoon by this time was projected to change course and come ashore in Taiwan. As it crosses the island, the storm will lose some of its strength, but may then rebuild as it crosses the Taiwan Straits and comes ashore again in eastern China. Projections call for it to land in Taiwan early on July 18, and then make landfall in mainland China on July 19. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Wipha
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Super Typhoon Wipha |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Wipha was approaching the coast of China on the afternoon of September 18, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this photo-like image. At the time (12:40 p.m. local time, 4:40 UTC), Wipha had winds between 250 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour or 135 knots) and 240 km/hr (150 mph or 130 knots), making it a strong Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] storm and a Super Typhoon (a typhoon with winds of at least 130 knots). The storm weakened shortly after this image was taken and was forecast to weaken further before making landfall over the densely populated East China coast late on September 18 or early on September 19. Though the storm was weakening, it was anticipated to be the strongest storm to hit China in a decade, reported Xinhua, China's news agency. In preparation for the storm, the government evacuated about two million people in three provinces, said Xinhua. The storm had already started to soak Taiwan with heavy rains by the time this image was taken. The spiraling bands of rain clouds cover the island in this image, though the dark, well-defined eye remains offshore to the north. The image also reveals just how large Wipha was. Including its outer bands, which stretch from the Philippines (visible in the large image) in the south to the East China coast in the north, Wipha sprawls over several hundred kilometers. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. You can also download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of Super Typhoon Wipia [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Sep2007/Wipha.A2007261.0440.250m.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Typhoon Aere
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Typhoon Aere |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Aere on August 25, 2004 at 5:20 UTC. At the time this image was taken Aere was located about 130 km (81 miles) northwest of Taipei, Taiwan and was moving towards the west at 17 km/hr (10 mph). Maximum sustained winds were near 143 km/hr (89 mph) with higher gusts to 167 km/hr (104 mph). Aere made landfall on southeast China's Fujian province at 8:30 UTC and was expected to also strike Zhejiang province, an area that is still mopping up after Typhoon Rananim left 164 people dead and 1,800 injured just weeks ago. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Aere
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Typhoon Aere |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Aere on August 24, 2004 at 4:40 UTC. At the time this image was taken, Aere was located approximately 185 km (115 miles) east-northest of Taipei, Taiwan and was slowly drifting towards the north-northwest at 9 km/hr (6 mph). Maximum sustained winds were near 148 km/hr (92 mph) with higher gusts to 185 km/hr (115 mph). The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Krosa
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Typhoon Krosa |
| Description |
Typhoon Krosa was a powerful tropical storm (the generic name for typhoons, hurricanes, and cyclones) on the morning of October 4, 2007. With sustained winds of over 210 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour), it was just at the crest of being classified a Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] Super Typhoon when NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Krosa in the afternoon. The storm had been intensifying over the northeastern Philippine Sea for several days, and was expected, as of October 4, to head towards northern Taiwan and the Chinese mainland coast. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image at 12:40 p.m. local time (4:40 UTC) on October 4, 2007. A sprawling system with tightly wound spiral arms and a large but cloud-filled ("closed") eye, Krosa bore all the hallmarks of a large and powerful typhoon. Although the storm was observed by MODIS to be brushing up against the Philippines, it was not projected to pass over the islands. The outer bands of the storm will certainly bring rains to Luzon, the northernmost island in the Philippine chain. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007277-1004/Krosa.A2007277.0440 ] You can also download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of Typhoon Krosa [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Oct2007/ Krosa.A2007277.0440.250m.kmz ] suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Typhoon Longwang
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Typhoon Longwang |
| Description |
Longwang means Dragon King (the God of Rain) in Chinese. Typhoon Longwang was living up to its namesake when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 2:05 p.m. local time, on October 1, 2005. At that time, Longwang had peak sustained winds of 230 kilometers per hour (145 miles per hour), slightly less than the peak winds two days earlier, a pattern that suggests that Longwang had reached a stable state and was no longer gaining strength. It also has a "closed eye" ("i.e.," the eye of the storm has some cloud cover), another indicator of a storm no longer building additional power. In the days following this image, Longwang cut directly across the middle of Taiwan, and early in the morning on October 2, made a second landfall in mainland China as a severe storm. The large image provided above has a resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005274-1001/Longwang.A2005274.0505 ] from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Man-Yi
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Typhoon Man-Yi |
| Description |
On July 12, 2007, Super Typhoon Man-Yi was a huge spiral of clouds, intense winds, and powerful thunderstorms as it arced northward over the western Pacific toward the southern end of the islands of Japan. Though far offshore, the Category 4 Super Typhoon [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] was large enough that the outer bands of storm clouds were bringing wind and rain to Taiwan. Forecasts as of July 12 were calling for the storm to weaken as it traveled through the island chain and to reach Tokyo as a milder, but still powerful, typhoon on or around July 15. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite acquired this photo-like image at 2:05 p.m. local time (5:05 UTC). Very near the same time MODIS was observing the storm, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center [ https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php ] estimated Man-Yi's sustained winds to be over 240 kilometers per hour (145 miles per hour). The satellite image confirms that Man-Yi was a powerful Super Typhoon. The storm has the hallmark tightly wound arms that spiral around a well-defined, circular eye. The symmetrical spirals, clear eye, and intense storm clouds around the eyewall (innermost band of clouds) are all features regularly seen in satellite images of other particularly powerful typhoons. The high-resolution image provided above is at MODIS' full spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions. [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2007193-0712/Man-Yi.A2007193.0505 ] You can download a 250-meter-resolution Super Typhoon Man-Yi KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jul2007/Man-Yi.A2007193.0505.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Typhoon Mindulle
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Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua spacecraft captured this true-color image os Typhoon Mindulle churning in the Pacific waters approximately 480 miles southeast of Tapei, Taiwan. At the time this image was taken, Mindulle had maximium sustained winds of 130 mph with gusts to 160 mph and was moving to the northwest at only 4 mph. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Mindulle was continuing to intensify in a favorable environment with the eye becoming more symetrical and better defined. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Rananim
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Typhoon Rananim |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Rananim on August 11 at 5:00 UTC while it was apprxoximately 230 nm east-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan. At the time this image was taken, Rananim has maximum sustained winds of 80 knots with higher gusts to 100 knots. The storm was moving towards the northwest at 9 knots and was expected to bring high winds and heavy rains to the northern sections of Taiwan. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Shanshan
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Typhoon Shanshan |
| Description |
Typhoon Shanshan formed on September 10, 2006, in the western Pacific off the coast of the Philippine Islands. Over the course of the next 36 hours, it grew from a tropical depression (area of low air pressure) to a typhoon, reaching Category 4 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] strength as it passed Taiwan on September 15. Typhoon Shanshan stayed at Category 4 (a Super Typhoon) for two days, starting to subside only late in the day on September 16. As of September 19, the typhoon was projected to pass on a northeasterly track through the straits between the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan, and to curve east to cross Hokkaido. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 18, 2006, at 1:25 p.m. local time (04:25 UTC). Shanshan at the time of this image had a well-defined spiral shape, with a distinct but cloud-filled ("closed") eye. Shanshan had sustained winds of around 140 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) at the time this satellite image was acquired, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Though no longer a super typhoon by this time, Agence France Presse reported nine deaths in southern Japan attributed to the storm, as well at least 310 injuries, and one person missing. Risks for landslides, flooding, and strong storm surge along the western coast were expected to remain high as the storm traveled near the western coastline. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Typhoon Sinlaku
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Typhoon Sinlaku |
| Description |
After tearing through the Okinawan island chain and Taiwan late last week, Typhoon Sinlaku slammed into China this weekend, causing as many as 26 deaths and $100 million in destruction. The typhoon can be seen making landfall over China in this true-color image taken on September 7, 2002, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA?s Aqua spacecraft. When the typhoon hit China, it was packing winds of up to 87 miles (144 kilometers) per hour. The typhoon destroyed over a quarter of a million acres of cropland, collapsed tens of thousands of buildings, and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. More than 1,500 people have been killed this year in China as a result of flooding and severe storms. Please note that the high resolution image provided here is 500 meters per pixel. Visit the MODIS Rapidfire Image Gallery [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2002250-0907 ] to obtain a copy at the sensor's highest resolution (250 m). Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Sinlaku
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Typhoon Sinlaku |
| Description |
On September 4, 2002, Typhoon Sinlaku passed directly above the Japan?s Okinawan island chain, generating winds of 145 kph (90 mph) and torrential rains. The typhoon knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of homes, injured 25 residents, and possibly killed five Filipino sailors. Currently, the typhoon is making its way toward Taiwan, packing sustained winds of 104 miles (167 kilometers) per hour. Taiwanese residents are shoring up their houses with sand bags and pulling their boats out of the water. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Sinlaku
| Title |
Typhoon Sinlaku |
| Description |
On September 4, 2002, Typhoon Sinlaku passed directly above the Japan?s Okinawan island chain, generating winds of 145 kph (90 mph) and torrential rains. The typhoon knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of homes, injured 25 residents, and possibly killed five Filipino sailors. Currently, the typhoon is making its way toward Taiwan, packing sustained winds of 104 miles (167 kilometers) per hour. Taiwanese residents are shoring up their houses with sand bags and pulling their boats out of the water. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Soudelor
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Typhoon Soudelor |
| Description |
On Tuesday, June 17, 2003 the MODIS instrument onboard the Aqua spacecraft captured this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Soudelor in the Philippine Sea. Soudelor (07W) is centered near 22.0 degrees north and 123.5 degrees east with sustained winds near 105 mph and gusts to 125 mph. The typhoon is moving to the north-northeast at 12 mph and this track is expected to continue over the next 24-36 hours, so Soudelor will pass to the west of the Ryukyu Islands and move near Kyushu. Rain and thunderstorms will cause locally heavy rainfall from Taiwan through the Ryukyu Islands and into southern Japan. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Talim
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Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a building storm in the western Pacific several hundred kilometers south of Japan when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on August 29, 2005. At this time, 1:25 p.m. Tokyo time, it had sustained winds of around 180 kilometers an hour (115 miles per hour) and was heading towards Taiwan at around 15 miles per hour. As of August 30, was being predicted to continue to gather up stronger winds and to strike Taiwan on September 2, and then continue across the Taiwan Strait to make landfall again on mainland China perhaps a day later. The typhoon should reach Category 4 strength, making it another super typhoon, by the time it strikes Taiwan, but should be a weaker Category 1 regular typhoon when it comes ashore on the mainland. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005241-0829/Talim.A2005241.0425 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Talim
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Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a weakening typhoon in the Taiwan Straits when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 12:50 p.m. Tapei time on September 1, 2005. It had sustained winds of around 120 kilometers an hour (70 miles per hour). The typhoon was predicted to weaken to a tropical storm in the hours immediately after this image was acquired. The outer edge of the storm started to rain onto Taiwan on August 31, where it brought down very heavy rains throughout the eastern portions of the island. It is the 13th named storm of the Pacific typhoon season, which has seen a record number of storms, and in particular, super typhoons. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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