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Typhoon of Taiwan and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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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 bearing down on Taiwan on the morning of July 18, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite at 02:20 UTC (10:20 p.m. Taipei time). At this time, the typhoon had weakened slightly from a Category 4 to Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Sustained winds were around 200 kilometers per hour (105 knots) with peak gusts as high as 240 km/hr (130 knots). The super typhoon has started to come ashore in Taiwan. As it crosses the island, the storm is losing some of its strength, but may then rebuild slightly as it crosses the Taiwan Straits and comes ashore again in eastern China. Projections call for it to make landfall in mainland China on July 19. In Taiwan, the storm has caused significant damage especially in the coastal towns of Hualien and Suao. At least one casuality has been due to the storm, where a woman was swept away by a flash flooding river in Taoyuan County, west of Taipei. NASA image provided courtesy of Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
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Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Taiwan suffered a direct hit from Typhoon Haitang on the afternoon of Monday July 18, 2005 local time with sustained winds reported at 184 kph (114 mph) by the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau. The storm cut directly across the north central part of the island and after crossing the Taiwan Straits is expected to make landfall again on the southeast coast of China. This image shows the storm at 03:59 UTC on the 17th of July as it approaches Taiwan. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while those in the outer portion are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). The PR shows a small, well-defined eye surrounded by tight concentric bands of moderate (green) to heavy (red) rain, especially to the northeast of the center. These features are indicative of a mature intense cyclone. At the time of this image, Haitang's sustained winds were estimated to be 140 knots (161 mph) by Joint Typhoon Warning Center, making it a Category 5 super typhoon. Launched in 1997, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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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
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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 Halong in West
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Super Typhoon Halong in Western Pacific |
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On July 14, 2002, Super Typhoon Halong was east of Taiwan (left edge) in the western Pacific Ocean. At the time this image was taken the storm was a Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (132 miles per hour), but as recently as July 12, winds were at 135 knots (155 miles per hour). Halong has moved northwards and pounded Okinawa, Japan, with heavy rain and high winds, just days after tropical Storm Chataan hit the country, creating flooding and killing several people. The storm is expected to be a continuing threat on Monday and Tuesday. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on July 14, 2002. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of the scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapid Response Image Gallery. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Super Typhoon Sepat
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Super Typhoon Sepat |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Sepat came ashore in Taiwan on August 17, 2007, after bringing torrential rain and flooding to the Philippines the day before. Flights to and from Tapei, the island's capital, were canceled and Chinese authorities were calling all ships at sea to come back to shore in anticipation of the powerful typhoon, said news reports. The typhoon was classified as Category 5 typhoon, [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] the very top of the scale, with sustained winds of 184 kilometers per hour (114 miles per hour), according to CNN. At 10:25 a.m. local time (02:25 UTC) on August 16, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Super Typhoon Sepat was still well away from its coming encounter with the Philippines and Taiwan. Winds were measured at a sustained speed as high as 257 km/hr (161 mph) at the time of this image, according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The storm's strength is evident in this image from its large size, well-defined spiral structure, and obvious large eye. Some clouds are present in the central eye: a completely clear eye is a tell-tale sign of the most powerful storms, though some clouds can be present in the eye of a powerful storm, as is the case here. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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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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Super Typhoon Wipha
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Super Typhoon Wipha |
| Description |
The top image provides a unique view of the remains of Typhoon Wipha about 16 hours after the center of the storm made landfall near Cangnan, in southern Zhejiang province on the east coast of China. The image was taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite at 7:11 pm local time (11:11 UTC) on September 19, 2007, and it shows the horizontal pattern of rain intensity within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, and those in the outer swath come from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. At this stage, Wipha no longer had a defined eye. Instead, the center of circulation was surrounded by broken areas of mostly light rain (blue areas). Most of the rain is farther to the north (larger blue area). Wipha was a Category 3 typhoon just before landfall, with sustained winds estimated at 100 knots (115 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. At the time of the TRMM overpass on September 19, sustained winds were down to 50 knots (58 mph). Most tropical cyclones weaken quickly after making landfall. Without active, deep convection near the center to fuel the storm, the circulation will spin down. The change in shape and intensity are evident in comparing the September 19 image to an image made with data collected on September 18. Just before Wipha made landfall, its center was defined by circular bands of heavy rain, shown in green and yellow in the lower image. A small band of extremely intense rain, depicted in red, is southeast of the storm's center. By the next day, Wipha no longer exhibited the structured bands of rain seen on September 18. Wipha became a tropical storm on September 16 in the central Philippine Sea. The system tracked northwestward and quickly intensified to a Category 4 storm as it approached Taiwan. Although the center passed northeast of Taiwan, Wipha was blamed for one fatality on the island. As of September 20, two persons had been reported dead in China as a result of the storm, said news reports. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Super Typhoon Wipha
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Super Typhoon Wipha |
| Description |
The top image provides a unique view of the remains of Typhoon Wipha about 16 hours after the center of the storm made landfall near Cangnan, in southern Zhejiang province on the east coast of China. The image was taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite at 7:11 pm local time (11:11 UTC) on September 19, 2007, and it shows the horizontal pattern of rain intensity within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, and those in the outer swath come from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. At this stage, Wipha no longer had a defined eye. Instead, the center of circulation was surrounded by broken areas of mostly light rain (blue areas). Most of the rain is farther to the north (larger blue area). Wipha was a Category 3 typhoon just before landfall, with sustained winds estimated at 100 knots (115 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. At the time of the TRMM overpass on September 19, sustained winds were down to 50 knots (58 mph). Most tropical cyclones weaken quickly after making landfall. Without active, deep convection near the center to fuel the storm, the circulation will spin down. The change in shape and intensity are evident in comparing the September 19 image to an image made with data collected on September 18. Just before Wipha made landfall, its center was defined by circular bands of heavy rain, shown in green and yellow in the lower image. A small band of extremely intense rain, depicted in red, is southeast of the storm's center. By the next day, Wipha no longer exhibited the structured bands of rain seen on September 18. Wipha became a tropical storm on September 16 in the central Philippine Sea. The system tracked northwestward and quickly intensified to a Category 4 storm as it approached Taiwan. Although the center passed northeast of Taiwan, Wipha was blamed for one fatality on the island. As of September 20, two persons had been reported dead in China as a result of the storm, said news reports. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Aere
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Typhoon Aere |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Aere on August 23, 2004 at 2:25 UTC. At the this image was taken, Aere had maximum sustained winds of 130 km/hr (81 mph) and was moving towards the northwest at 19 km/hr (12 mph). This motion would put Aere over Taiwan within the next 24 hours. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, 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 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 Aere
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Typhoon Aere |
| Description |
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite provided this image of Typhoon Aere over the western Philippine Sea as it was approaching Taiwan. Images and data collected by TRMM help to provide valuable estimates of storm location and intensity especially over remote ocean areas. This particular image was taken at 09:23 UTC on 23 August 2004. At the time of this image, Aere was a minimal Category 1 typhoon with winds estimated at 65 knots (75 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows a top down view of the horizontal distribution of rain intensity obtained from the TRMM satellite. Rain rates in the center part of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space. The PR can provide fine resolution rainfall data and details on the vertical structure. Rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). TRMM reveals that Aere has a large, closed eye. However, only the southern portion of the eyewall contains any moderate (green) to heavy (red) rain. The northern portion of the eyewall contains only light (blue) rain and is almost open, which is supported by the IR data. It reveals that Aere is not a strong, well-organized storm and is unlikely to intensify at this time. The heaviest rainfall (darker reds) is contained in an outer rainband south of the center. Aere originally formed as a tropical depression on the 19th of August about 1000 km east of the central Philippines and never intensified beyond Category 1. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
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Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
| Title |
Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
| Title |
Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
| Title |
Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
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Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
| Title |
Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Conson (07W)
| Title |
Typhoon Conson (07W) |
| Description |
Typhoon Conson began as a weak tropical depression almost 12 days ago in the West Pacific south of the western Caroline Islands. The system moved steadily west-northwest without gaining any strength as it passed through the central Philippines. On the 2nd of June 2004, Conson emerged into the South China Sea west of the Philippines. Between the 4th and 7th, Conson traversed a slow loop over the South China Sea west of the main northern island of Luzon and strengthened into a tropical storm. On the 7th, Conson began moving towards the north-northeast and gathered enough strength to become a typhoon. The system continued its movement towards the north-northeast on the 8th bringing it closer to southern Taiwan. The system also continued to strengthen. On the 9th, Typhoon Conson passed through the Bashi Channel just south of Taiwan before passing east of the island. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite captured these images of Conson showing the storm's evolution from a tropical storm into a typhoon. The first image was taken at 17:32 UTC on 5 June 2004. It shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), while rain rates in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At the time of the first image, Conson still just a tropical storm with winds estimated at 45 knots (52 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. TRMM shows that the storm has a well-defined circulation but lacks a complete eyewall with only moderate (green) rain intensities immediately west of the center. Isolated heavier rain (red areas) occurs in the outer rainbands. The next image taken at 16:24 UTC on the 8th shows a much stronger storm. The rainbands are tightly wrapped around the center which now contains intense (dark red areas) rain areas in the northern and eastern part of the eyewall. These intense rainrates show where heat is being released that fuels the storm. The typhoon is now over the Luzon Straight between the northern Philippines and southern Taiwan and has winds of 90 knots (104 mph). The next image was taken at the same time and shows a vertical slice through the center of the storm looking east. It shows the convection on the east side of the storm is much taller (blue areas above the yellow areas) and more intense (dark red area) than on the west side. The last set of images were taken at 16:14 UTC on the 10th as Conson was approaching the southern islands of Japan. At this time, Conson is starting to become extratropical as it accelerates to the northeast. The top down image reveals that the center has become ragged and disorganized. Some intense rainfall (dark reds) still exists north of the center and in a trailing rainband. The vertical slice taken through the convection north of the center looking east shows an area of intense rain (dark red area), and evidence of a bright band (horizontal red/yellow layer). Bright bands are brought about by melting of larger ice particles. This final image also shows that the convective towers are not as deep as they were earlier (blue areas above the yellow areas). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Dujuan
| Title |
Typhoon Dujuan |
| Description |
The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (TRMM) satellite captured this image of Typhoon Dujuan just after it had brushed the southern tip of Taiwan where it was responsible for two fatalities. The image was taken at 22:33 UTC on September 1, 2003. At the time, Dujuan was still classified as a powerful Category 4 storm with winds estimated at near 135 mph and was moving west-north-west towards the coast of China. The image gives a top down view of the storm. Rainfall rates from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) are overlayed on TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS) data (white areas). It shows that all of the deep convection and heavy rain rates (darker red areas) that are responsible for providing the heat energy needed to the fuel the storm are present only in the outer rain bands on the south and east sides of the storm. Susequently, Dujuan began to weaken as it approached the coast of China. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, NASDA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC) |
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Typhoon Ewiniar
| Title |
Typhoon Ewiniar |
| Description |
As of July 11, 2006, at least 30 people in China and 5 in Korea had died as a result of flooding and mudslides caused by Typhoon Ewiniar. The storm began as a tropical depression on June 30, 2006, southeast of Palau in the northern West Pacific. Ewiniar tracked generally north-northwestward before turning north to pass east of the Philippines and Taiwan. The storm made landfall in South Korea on July 10. Ewiniar was rated a Category 4 typhoon at its peak, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour) while it was east of the Philippines on July 5. Ewiniar then slowly weakened as it passed by the coast of China before striking the Korean Peninsula as a tropical storm. Rainfall totals are shown here for the period June 29 to July 10, 2006, for the western Pacific region. The highest rainfall totals trace out Ewiniar's path, with maximum amounts around 600 millimeters or more (shown in red). These heavy amounts occurred offshore. The east-west oriented bands of moderate to isolated heavy rainfall (shown in green and red) over the east coast of China and southeast of Japan are associated with another weather system unrelated to Typhoon Ewiniar. That system brought rain to the same area during this period. The rainfall analysis above is from the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which uses data from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to calibrate precipitation estimates. This product was developed by the precipitation research team in the Laboratory for Atmosphere at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Ewiniar
| Title |
Typhoon Ewiniar |
| Description |
As of July 11, 2006, at least 30 people in China and 5 in Korea had died as a result of flooding and mudslides caused by Typhoon Ewiniar. The storm began as a tropical depression on June 30, 2006, southeast of Palau in the northern West Pacific. Ewiniar tracked generally north-northwestward before turning north to pass east of the Philippines and Taiwan. The storm made landfall in South Korea on July 10. Ewiniar was rated a Category 4 typhoon at its peak, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour) while it was east of the Philippines on July 5. Ewiniar then slowly weakened as it passed by the coast of China before striking the Korean Peninsula as a tropical storm. Rainfall totals are shown here for the period June 29 to July 10, 2006, for the western Pacific region. The highest rainfall totals trace out Ewiniar's path, with maximum amounts around 600 millimeters or more (shown in red). These heavy amounts occurred offshore. The east-west oriented bands of moderate to isolated heavy rainfall (shown in green and red) over the east coast of China and southeast of Japan are associated with another weather system unrelated to Typhoon Ewiniar. That system brought rain to the same area during this period. The rainfall analysis above is from the Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis, which uses data from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite to calibrate precipitation estimates. This product was developed by the precipitation research team in the Laboratory for Atmosphere at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Haitang Floods Taiwa
…
| Title |
Typhoon Haitang Floods Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Haitang swept across Taiwan between July 18 and July 20, 2005, pounding the island with rain. During the storm, flood waters inundated much of southern Taiwan, damaging bridges and destroying crops. On July 25, a week after the storm first started to affect Taiwan, flooding was still evident when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The lower image was taken on July 9, a little over a week before the storm hit the island. Flooding is visible in two places in the top image. First, the Peinan River of southeastern Taiwan is much larger than it was a few weeks earlier. On the west side of the island, several rivers are similarly swollen, and blue flood water covers what was dry, bare ground on July 9. Though water is normally black in this false-color combination, dirt colors the water blue, so the sediment-laden flood water on the island itself is blue. Vegetation is a brilliant green, bare land is pinkish tan, and clouds are white and pale blue. Typhoon Haitang and its associated floods killed 12 and caused millions of dollars of damage, according to local media reports.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China6 ] of Taiwan are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Haitang Floods Taiwa
…
| Title |
Typhoon Haitang Floods Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Haitang swept across Taiwan between July 18 and July 20, 2005, pounding the island with rain. During the storm, flood waters inundated much of southern Taiwan, damaging bridges and destroying crops. On July 25, a week after the storm first started to affect Taiwan, flooding was still evident when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image. The lower image was taken on July 9, a little over a week before the storm hit the island. Flooding is visible in two places in the top image. First, the Peinan River of southeastern Taiwan is much larger than it was a few weeks earlier. On the west side of the island, several rivers are similarly swollen, and blue flood water covers what was dry, bare ground on July 9. Though water is normally black in this false-color combination, dirt colors the water blue, so the sediment-laden flood water on the island itself is blue. Vegetation is a brilliant green, bare land is pinkish tan, and clouds are white and pale blue. Typhoon Haitang and its associated floods killed 12 and caused millions of dollars of damage, according to local media reports.Daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?FAS_China6 ] of Taiwan are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. NASA images courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Kaemi
| Title |
Typhoon Kaemi |
| Description |
) flew over the storm. At the time, Kaemi was over the central Philippine Sea. These images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity within the storm and provide important clues about Kaemi's structure. In the top image, taken on July 21, TRMM reveals that Kaemi had a well-defined closed eye (center circular region) indicative of the kind of well-developed circulation that is commonly associated with a mature tropical cyclone. The image also shows that the rain field is very asymmetrical, with the bulk of the rain, including essentially all of the intense rain (shown by the darker reds), occurring in the southern half of storm. After the top image was taken on July 21, Kaemi continued to track northwest. Although the storm's center passed well to the north of the main island of Luzon in the northern Philippines, it did bring significant rains to the island. As Kaemi exited the Philippine Sea, it took a direct path over southern Taiwan, crossing over the island on the evening of July 24. By the time it struck, Kaemi had weakened to a Category 1 system. On July 25, Kaemi passed over the narrow Taiwan Straight between Taiwan and China before making landfall that afternoon (local time) near Jinjiang in Fujian Province on China's southeast coast. TRMM captured the lower image at 3:40 p.m. local time (7:40 UTC), just as Kaemi was making landfall on the coast of China. In this image, the center is poorly defined, with no closed eye visible. By this time, Kaemi had weakened to a tropical storm, with sustained winds estimated at just 93 km/hr (58 mph or 90 knots). There was, however, a broad area of light (blue) to moderate (green) rain wrapped around the northern and eastern side of the storm over mainland China. This rain eventually triggered flooding and mudslides in the region. Launched in November of 1997, TRMM was designed to measure rainfall over the global Tropics using a suite of active and passive sensors, including the world's first space-borne precipitation radar. TRMM has also proven to be extremely valuable for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the open ocean. In these images, rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)., Following a path similar to recent Tropical Storm Bilis, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13711 ] which triggered extensive inland flooding and landslides and has been blamed for more than 600 deaths in China, Typhoon Kaemi passed over Taiwan before striking the southeast coast of China. Kaemi means "ant" in Korean. The storm started out as a tropical depression on July 18, 2006, several hundred miles south-southeast of Guam, tracked generally to the northwest, and entered the Philippine Sea as a weak tropical storm on July 19. Over the next two days, Kaemi intensified into a Category 2 typhoon in the central Philippine Sea, with sustained winds estimated at 167 kilometers per hour (104 miles per hour or 90 knots) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. [ https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil//jtwc.html ] While the typhoon was at Category 2 status on July 21, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Typhoon Kaemi
| Title |
Typhoon Kaemi |
| Description |
) flew over the storm. At the time, Kaemi was over the central Philippine Sea. These images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity within the storm and provide important clues about Kaemi's structure. In the top image, taken on July 21, TRMM reveals that Kaemi had a well-defined closed eye (center circular region) indicative of the kind of well-developed circulation that is commonly associated with a mature tropical cyclone. The image also shows that the rain field is very asymmetrical, with the bulk of the rain, including essentially all of the intense rain (shown by the darker reds), occurring in the southern half of storm. After the top image was taken on July 21, Kaemi continued to track northwest. Although the storm's center passed well to the north of the main island of Luzon in the northern Philippines, it did bring significant rains to the island. As Kaemi exited the Philippine Sea, it took a direct path over southern Taiwan, crossing over the island on the evening of July 24. By the time it struck, Kaemi had weakened to a Category 1 system. On July 25, Kaemi passed over the narrow Taiwan Straight between Taiwan and China before making landfall that afternoon (local time) near Jinjiang in Fujian Province on China's southeast coast. TRMM captured the lower image at 3:40 p.m. local time (7:40 UTC), just as Kaemi was making landfall on the coast of China. In this image, the center is poorly defined, with no closed eye visible. By this time, Kaemi had weakened to a tropical storm, with sustained winds estimated at just 93 km/hr (58 mph or 90 knots). There was, however, a broad area of light (blue) to moderate (green) rain wrapped around the northern and eastern side of the storm over mainland China. This rain eventually triggered flooding and mudslides in the region. Launched in November of 1997, TRMM was designed to measure rainfall over the global Tropics using a suite of active and passive sensors, including the world's first space-borne precipitation radar. TRMM has also proven to be extremely valuable for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the open ocean. In these images, rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, while those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager. The rain rates are overlaid on infrared data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency, JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)., Following a path similar to recent Tropical Storm Bilis, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13711 ] which triggered extensive inland flooding and landslides and has been blamed for more than 600 deaths in China, Typhoon Kaemi passed over Taiwan before striking the southeast coast of China. Kaemi means "ant" in Korean. The storm started out as a tropical depression on July 18, 2006, several hundred miles south-southeast of Guam, tracked generally to the northwest, and entered the Philippine Sea as a weak tropical storm on July 19. Over the next two days, Kaemi intensified into a Category 2 typhoon in the central Philippine Sea, with sustained winds estimated at 167 kilometers per hour (104 miles per hour or 90 knots) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. [ https://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil//jtwc.html ] While the typhoon was at Category 2 status on July 21, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] |
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Typhoon Ketsana
| Title |
Typhoon Ketsana |
| Description |
Typhoon Ketsana moves through the western Pacific Ocean. In this image, recorded by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS)on October 22, 2003, the storm is about 600 kilometers southeast of Taiwan. Ketsana continues to maintain 144 mile per hour winds with higher gusts. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/redirect?http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS.html ] NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE |
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Typhoon Krosa
| Title |
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
| Title |
Typhoon Longwang |
| Description |
Typhoon Longwang, which means "dragon king" in Mandarin, became the third super typhoon this year to hit Taiwan and continue on to make landfall in China. The other two super typhoons of 2005 were Haitang and Talim. After traversing the Philippine Sea, Longwang plowed over Taiwan on October 2, 2005, where winds were recorded up to 230 kilometers per hour (143 mph). The storm left one person missing and one dead in Taiwan. Longwang then continued moving across the Taiwan straight and struck Fujian Province in southeast China. Three people were reported killed, and 59 police cadets were missing after flood waters swept away their buildings. This image of Longwang was captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite on October 1, 2005, at 20:27 UTC, just as the center of the storm was making landfall on the eastern coast of Taiwan. The western half of the eyewall is already over the coast while the center sits just offshore. A sizeable area of very intense rain (dark red area) is present in the eastern half of the eyewall. At the time, Longwang was still a Category 4 typhoon with sustained winds of 115 knots (132 mph). After crossing Taiwan, the storm would later weaken to a Category 1 typhoon before hitting mainland China. The TRMM satellite has been measuring rainfall over the tropics since its launch in 1997. The TRMM-based, near-real time MPA at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center provides estimates of rainfall over the global tropics. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Image produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and captioned by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC). |
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Typhoon Longwang
| Title |
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
| Title |
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
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Mindulle on June 29, 2004 at 2:20 UTC as the storm was located approximately 450 miles south-southeast of Tapei, Taiwan. At the time this image was taken, Mindulle had sustained winds of 144 mph with higher gusts to 173 mph. Mindulle was expected to drift towards the west and make landfall over the northern Philippines. Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been fulfilling its mission of monitoring rainfall over the global tropics since its launch back in November of 1997. With its passive and active sensors, TRMM is able to capture unique images of tropical cyclones providing a one of a kind perspective on their structures as seen by this series of images of Mindulle. The first image was taken at 15:39 UTC on 23 June 2004 when Mindulle was still just a tropical storm west of the Northern Mariana Islands with maximum sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows that Mindulle is not very organized yet with no evidence of an eye in the rain field. However, some banding is visible in the moderate rain rates (green areas) and a sizeable area of intense rain is present (dark red areas). The second image was taken at 06:01 UTC on the 28th and shows a mature typhoon with a large, well- defined eye surrounded by a definitive eyewall that contains areas of heavy rain (semicircle with dark red areas). At this time Mindulle was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) as it was approaching the the the northern Philippines. The next image at this same time shows a vertical cross section, through the center of the storm from the PR looking northeast. It shows the intense rain (black area) in the western eyewall and a broad rain shield of moderate intensity rain (yellow areas) west of the center. Also evident is a bright band (horizontal yellow areas) wherein ice particle begin to melt as they fall through the freezing level. The final image was taken at 4:51 UTC on 1 July 2004. It shows a greatly weakened Mindulle hugging the east coast of Taiwan. The eyewall is gone and the center is surrounded by a large swirl of mostly light rain (blue areas). The heaviest rain rates are part of a large rain band that extends southwest of the center into the northern South China Sea. At this time, the maximum estimated winds were down to 75 knots (86 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
|
Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been fulfilling its mission of monitoring rainfall over the global tropics since its launch back in November of 1997. With its passive and active sensors, TRMM is able to capture unique images of tropical cyclones providing a one of a kind perspective on their structures as seen by this series of images of Mindulle. The first image was taken at 15:39 UTC on 23 June 2004 when Mindulle was still just a tropical storm west of the Northern Mariana Islands with maximum sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows that Mindulle is not very organized yet with no evidence of an eye in the rain field. However, some banding is visible in the moderate rain rates (green areas) and a sizeable area of intense rain is present (dark red areas). The second image was taken at 06:01 UTC on the 28th and shows a mature typhoon with a large, well- defined eye surrounded by a definitive eyewall that contains areas of heavy rain (semicircle with dark red areas). At this time Mindulle was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) as it was approaching the the the northern Philippines. The next image at this same time shows a vertical cross section, through the center of the storm from the PR looking northeast. It shows the intense rain (black area) in the western eyewall and a broad rain shield of moderate intensity rain (yellow areas) west of the center. Also evident is a bright band (horizontal yellow areas) wherein ice particle begin to melt as they fall through the freezing level. The final image was taken at 4:51 UTC on 1 July 2004. It shows a greatly weakened Mindulle hugging the east coast of Taiwan. The eyewall is gone and the center is surrounded by a large swirl of mostly light rain (blue areas). The heaviest rain rates are part of a large rain band that extends southwest of the center into the northern South China Sea. At this time, the maximum estimated winds were down to 75 knots (86 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
|
Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been fulfilling its mission of monitoring rainfall over the global tropics since its launch back in November of 1997. With its passive and active sensors, TRMM is able to capture unique images of tropical cyclones providing a one of a kind perspective on their structures as seen by this series of images of Mindulle. The first image was taken at 15:39 UTC on 23 June 2004 when Mindulle was still just a tropical storm west of the Northern Mariana Islands with maximum sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows that Mindulle is not very organized yet with no evidence of an eye in the rain field. However, some banding is visible in the moderate rain rates (green areas) and a sizeable area of intense rain is present (dark red areas). The second image was taken at 06:01 UTC on the 28th and shows a mature typhoon with a large, well- defined eye surrounded by a definitive eyewall that contains areas of heavy rain (semicircle with dark red areas). At this time Mindulle was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) as it was approaching the the the northern Philippines. The next image at this same time shows a vertical cross section, through the center of the storm from the PR looking northeast. It shows the intense rain (black area) in the western eyewall and a broad rain shield of moderate intensity rain (yellow areas) west of the center. Also evident is a bright band (horizontal yellow areas) wherein ice particle begin to melt as they fall through the freezing level. The final image was taken at 4:51 UTC on 1 July 2004. It shows a greatly weakened Mindulle hugging the east coast of Taiwan. The eyewall is gone and the center is surrounded by a large swirl of mostly light rain (blue areas). The heaviest rain rates are part of a large rain band that extends southwest of the center into the northern South China Sea. At this time, the maximum estimated winds were down to 75 knots (86 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
|
Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been fulfilling its mission of monitoring rainfall over the global tropics since its launch back in November of 1997. With its passive and active sensors, TRMM is able to capture unique images of tropical cyclones providing a one of a kind perspective on their structures as seen by this series of images of Mindulle. The first image was taken at 15:39 UTC on 23 June 2004 when Mindulle was still just a tropical storm west of the Northern Mariana Islands with maximum sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows that Mindulle is not very organized yet with no evidence of an eye in the rain field. However, some banding is visible in the moderate rain rates (green areas) and a sizeable area of intense rain is present (dark red areas). The second image was taken at 06:01 UTC on the 28th and shows a mature typhoon with a large, well- defined eye surrounded by a definitive eyewall that contains areas of heavy rain (semicircle with dark red areas). At this time Mindulle was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) as it was approaching the the the northern Philippines. The next image at this same time shows a vertical cross section, through the center of the storm from the PR looking northeast. It shows the intense rain (black area) in the western eyewall and a broad rain shield of moderate intensity rain (yellow areas) west of the center. Also evident is a bright band (horizontal yellow areas) wherein ice particle begin to melt as they fall through the freezing level. The final image was taken at 4:51 UTC on 1 July 2004. It shows a greatly weakened Mindulle hugging the east coast of Taiwan. The eyewall is gone and the center is surrounded by a large swirl of mostly light rain (blue areas). The heaviest rain rates are part of a large rain band that extends southwest of the center into the northern South China Sea. At this time, the maximum estimated winds were down to 75 knots (86 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
|
Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
Typhoon Mindulle |
| Description |
As the northern Philippines island of Luzon recovers from its brush with Typhoon Mindulle, the island nation of Taiwan now bears the brunt of the storm. Mindulle was responsible for 16 fatalities and 17 missing persons in the Philippines mainly from flash floods and is now hitting the east coast of Taiwan with 75 mph winds. Mindulle formed into a tropical depression from a monsoon gyre back on the 23rd of June 2004 just west of the Northern Mariana Islands. Mindulle quickly reached tropical storm strength but only slowly intensified over the next few days before finally becoming a minimal typhoon on the 27th in the Philippine Sea. Next came a period of rapid development as Mindulle's maximum sustained winds increased from 65 knots (75 mph) to 125 knots (144 mph) within a span of just 30 hours, and it's forward speed decreased dramatically as it approached the northern Philippines. Up until this point, Mindulle had been moving mainly due west but now turned north taking it through the Babuyan and Batan islands north of the main island of Luzon. The storm increased its forward speed slowly and began to weaken as it passed through the Bashi Channel headed for Taiwan. Mindulle passed by the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of Taiwan on the evening (local time) of the 30th of June before continuing up along the east coast of Taiwan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been fulfilling its mission of monitoring rainfall over the global tropics since its launch back in November of 1997. With its passive and active sensors, TRMM is able to capture unique images of tropical cyclones providing a one of a kind perspective on their structures as seen by this series of images of Mindulle. The first image was taken at 15:39 UTC on 23 June 2004 when Mindulle was still just a tropical storm west of the Northern Mariana Islands with maximum sustained winds estimated at 35 knots (40 mph) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The image shows the horizontal distribution of rain intensity. Rain rates in the center swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), the first and only precipitation radar in space, and those in the outer swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). This image shows that Mindulle is not very organized yet with no evidence of an eye in the rain field. However, some banding is visible in the moderate rain rates (green areas) and a sizeable area of intense rain is present (dark red areas). The second image was taken at 06:01 UTC on the 28th and shows a mature typhoon with a large, well- defined eye surrounded by a definitive eyewall that contains areas of heavy rain (semicircle with dark red areas). At this time Mindulle was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds estimated at 115 knots (132 mph) as it was approaching the the the northern Philippines. The next image at this same time shows a vertical cross section, through the center of the storm from the PR looking northeast. It shows the intense rain (black area) in the western eyewall and a broad rain shield of moderate intensity rain (yellow areas) west of the center. Also evident is a bright band (horizontal yellow areas) wherein ice particle begin to melt as they fall through the freezing level. The final image was taken at 4:51 UTC on 1 July 2004. It shows a greatly weakened Mindulle hugging the east coast of Taiwan. The eyewall is gone and the center is surrounded by a large swirl of mostly light rain (blue areas). The heaviest rain rates are part of a large rain band that extends southwest of the center into the northern South China Sea. At this time, the maximum estimated winds were down to 75 knots (86 mph). TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Mindulle
| Title |
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 Nanmadol
| Title |
Typhoon Nanmadol |
| Description |
Powerful Typhoon Nanmadol was preparing to make landfall in the Philippines on December 2, 2004, over the already battered Aurora province. Over the past two weeks, Luzon, the main island in the Philippines, has been lashed with three tropical storms—Nanmadol is number four. The toll from the first three storms, the most recent of which was Monday, is well over 1,000 with 479 dead and 560 missing, according to Reuters. Many of the deaths occurred along Luzon's east coast where floods and landslides buried three towns. Nanmadol's effects were already being felt over Luzon's east coast late on December 2, and many fear that the storm will make the situation worse. The government of the Philippines has already requested international aid to meet the needs of those whose homes were destroyed. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image shows Typhoon Nanmadol at 4:45 UTC, 12:45 p.m. in Manila. At that time, the storm had sustained winds of 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph) with gusts up to 296 kph (184 mph). Later in the day, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that the storm's winds had slowed to 204 kph (127 mph) with gusts to 250 kph (155 mph). The storm is expected to move northwest over the Philippines, then turn northeast over Taiwan. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Tai
…
| Title |
Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Nock-ten left four people dead and 1 missing this past week after hitting the northeastern coast of Taiwan. Most of the deaths were a result of landslides. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been collecting unique images and valuable data of tropical cyclones since its launch in November of 1997. TRMM captured these images of Nock-ten as it was approaching Taiwan. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, at the time of the first TRMM overpass at 18:09 UTC on the 20th of October 2004, Nock-ten was already a Category 2 typhoon packing winds of 95 knots (109 mph). The first image shows a horizontal map of the near surface rainfall intensity obtained from that overpass. Rain rates in the center part of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar or PR, while rain rates in the outer part of the swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager or TMI. The rainfall rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). A well-defined eye is apparent in the center of the cloud mass. A substantial area of intense rain is just south of the center with rain rates on the order of 2 inches per hour (dark red areas). The overall rain area is asymmetrical with the bulk of the rain occurring west of the center including additional areas of heavy rain (red areas). At the time of this image, Nock-ten was already west-southwest of Guam and was moving northwest. The second image was taken three days later on the 23rd of October at 18:35 UTC and shows Nock-ten near its peak intensity. The storm was now a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph) as it approached Taiwan. Nock-ten still has a well-defined eye with heavy (red) to intense (dark red) rain in the northern half of the eye wall. The bulk of the rain is now skewed to the north of the center. A large area of white cloudy wisps show the storm's outflow to the north. Nock-ten would remain a Category 3 typhoon for 1 more day before weaking to a Category 2 storm as it passed Taiwan. The system then quickly decayed into a tropical storm before dissipating just north of Taiwan. Nock-ten means bird in Laotian. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Tai
…
| Title |
Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Nock-ten left four people dead and 1 missing this past week after hitting the northeastern coast of Taiwan. Most of the deaths were a result of landslides. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been collecting unique images and valuable data of tropical cyclones since its launch in November of 1997. TRMM captured these images of Nock-ten as it was approaching Taiwan. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, at the time of the first TRMM overpass at 18:09 UTC on the 20th of October 2004, Nock-ten was already a Category 2 typhoon packing winds of 95 knots (109 mph). The first image shows a horizontal map of the near surface rainfall intensity obtained from that overpass. Rain rates in the center part of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar or PR, while rain rates in the outer part of the swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager or TMI. The rainfall rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). A well-defined eye is apparent in the center of the cloud mass. A substantial area of intense rain is just south of the center with rain rates on the order of 2 inches per hour (dark red areas). The overall rain area is asymmetrical with the bulk of the rain occurring west of the center including additional areas of heavy rain (red areas). At the time of this image, Nock-ten was already west-southwest of Guam and was moving northwest. The second image was taken three days later on the 23rd of October at 18:35 UTC and shows Nock-ten near its peak intensity. The storm was now a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph) as it approached Taiwan. Nock-ten still has a well-defined eye with heavy (red) to intense (dark red) rain in the northern half of the eye wall. The bulk of the rain is now skewed to the north of the center. A large area of white cloudy wisps show the storm's outflow to the north. Nock-ten would remain a Category 3 typhoon for 1 more day before weaking to a Category 2 storm as it passed Taiwan. The system then quickly decayed into a tropical storm before dissipating just north of Taiwan. Nock-ten means bird in Laotian. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Tai
…
| Title |
Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Nock-ten left four people dead and 1 missing this past week after hitting the northeastern coast of Taiwan. Most of the deaths were a result of landslides. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite has been collecting unique images and valuable data of tropical cyclones since its launch in November of 1997. TRMM captured these images of Nock-ten as it was approaching Taiwan. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, at the time of the first TRMM overpass at 18:09 UTC on the 20th of October 2004, Nock-ten was already a Category 2 typhoon packing winds of 95 knots (109 mph). The first image shows a horizontal map of the near surface rainfall intensity obtained from that overpass. Rain rates in the center part of the swath are from the TRMM Precipitation Radar or PR, while rain rates in the outer part of the swath are from the TRMM Microwave Imager or TMI. The rainfall rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). A well-defined eye is apparent in the center of the cloud mass. A substantial area of intense rain is just south of the center with rain rates on the order of 2 inches per hour (dark red areas). The overall rain area is asymmetrical with the bulk of the rain occurring west of the center including additional areas of heavy rain (red areas). At the time of this image, Nock-ten was already west-southwest of Guam and was moving northwest. The second image was taken three days later on the 23rd of October at 18:35 UTC and shows Nock-ten near its peak intensity. The storm was now a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds estimated at 105 knots (121 mph) as it approached Taiwan. Nock-ten still has a well-defined eye with heavy (red) to intense (dark red) rain in the northern half of the eye wall. The bulk of the rain is now skewed to the north of the center. A large area of white cloudy wisps show the storm's outflow to the north. Nock-ten would remain a Category 3 typhoon for 1 more day before weaking to a Category 2 storm as it passed Taiwan. The system then quickly decayed into a tropical storm before dissipating just north of Taiwan. Nock-ten means bird in Laotian. TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA. NASA images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC), NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. |
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Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Tai
…
| Title |
Typhoon Nock-Ten strikes Taiwan |
| Description |
Typhoon Nock-Ten hammered Taiwan with heavy rains and strong winds on October 25, 2004, killing at least four, according to media reports. Heavy rains drenched northeastern Taiwan, triggering extensive flooding. Though winds had dropped to about 170 kilometers per hour (100 mph) when the storm blew ashore, at its height, Nock-Ten?s maximum sustained winds reached 204 kilometers per hour (127 mph) with stronger gusts. This image of the storm was acquired on October 24, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite a few hours after the storm began to weaken. Nock-Ten, ?bird? in Laotian, is the sixth typhoon to strike Taiwan and the 24th to develop in the western Pacific this year. After moving across northern Taiwan, the storm curved east over the East China Sea and weakened into an extra-tropical depression as it approached Japan?s southern islands on October 26. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Typhoon Rammasun on China Co
…
| Title |
Typhoon Rammasun on China Coast |
| Description |
Before winding down on July 6, 2002, Typhoon Rammasun reached Category 3 hurricane status, with maximum sustained winds of 110 knots (127 miles per hour). On July 4, 2002, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) captured this image of the storm off the coast of China and Taiwan (partially cloud covered). The storm veered northward and eventually made landfall over Korea, where it broke up. Please note that the high-resolution scene provided here is 500 meters per pixel. For a copy of the scene at the sensor's fullest resolution, visit the MODIS Rapid Response Image Gallery. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Rananim
| Title |
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 Rananim
| Title |
Typhoon Rananim |
| Description |
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite captured this true-color image of Typhoon Rananim on August 12 at 2:40 UTC. At the time this image was taken, Rananim was located approximately 150 nm northeast of Taipei, Taiwan and had maximum sustained winds of 90 knots with higher gusts 110 knots. Rananim was moving towards the north-northwest at 13 knots. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at additional resolutions and formats. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. |
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Typhoon Saomai
| Title |
Typhoon Saomai |
| Description |
Typhoon Saomai formed in the western Pacific on August 4, 2006, as a tropical depression. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm, and continued to grow, becoming a Category 1 typhoon a day later. Just as Saomai crossed the threshold to typhoon status, a tropical depression formed in the same general area, reaching storm status on August 7, at which point it was named Bopha. As of August 9, Bopha and Saomai were both heading roughly west, with Bopha projected to pass directly over Taiwan, while Saomai was projected to pass north of the island before making landfall on the Asian mainland. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on August 9, 2006, at 10:05 a.m. local time (02:05 UTC). Bopha had developed a strong cyclonic shape, and although the storm system does not have a well-developed eye, the "boiling" clouds around the center suggest thunderstorm activity. Typhoon Saomai appears similar in size to Bopha, but it was a much more powerful storm. At the time of this image, Bopha had sustained peak winds of roughly 82 kilometers per hour (52 miles per hour), while Typhoon Saomai had sustained winds of around 140 km/hr (85 mph), according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/tropical.html ] Tropical Storm Maria, which was in the picture [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13754 ] with Bopha and Saomai on August 7, had moved farther north as of August 9, when MODIS captured this image. The high-resolution image provided above is provided at the full MODIS 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/?2006220-0808/Saomai.A2006220.0205 ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Typhoon Shanshan
| Title |
Typhoon Shanshan |
| Description |
Typhoon Shanshan formed on September 10, 2006, in the western Pacific well off the coast of the Philippine Islands. Over the course of the next 36 hours, it grew from a tropical depression (area of low pressure) to a typhoon. As of September 14, it was projected to travel northwest towards China, but to veer off to the northeast well before reaching Taiwan. It was not predicted to come ashore or strike any major urban centers, though it might bring high winds and rain to Vladivostok in Russia on September 19 if predictions held true. This photo-like image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] on the Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite on September 14, 2006, at 10:25 a.m. local time (02:25 UTC). Shanshan at the time of this image was a well-defined, spiraling swirl of clouds, 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 ] 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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