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Super Typhoon Haitang
| Title |
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
| Title |
Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Typhoon Haitang is shown here churning steadily towards Taiwan and China. This image shows the storm's swirling wind patterns as observed by NASA's QuikSCAT satellite on July 14, 2005, at 19:19 UTC (14:19 Eastern Daylight Time). At this time, the typhoon was located hundreds of kilometers from the nearest major land masses. The image depicts wind speed in color and wind direction with small barbs. White barbs point to areas of heavy rain. The highest wind speeds, shown in purple, surround the center of the storm. Measurements of the wind strength of Typhoon Haitang show sustained winds of around 85 knots and gusts up to 105 knots at the time of the QuikSCAT observations. The images, however, reveal lower wind speeds. This is because the power of the storm makes accurate measurements difficult. The scatterometer sends pulses of microwave energy through the atmosphere to the ocean surface, and measures the energy that bounces back from the wind-roughened surface. The energy of the microwave pulses changes depending on wind speed and direction, giving scientists a way to monitor wind around the world. Tropical cyclones (the generic term for hurricanes and typhoons), however, are difficult to measure. To relate the radar energy return to actual wind speed, scientists compare measurements taken from buoys and other ground stations to data the satellite acquired at the same time and place. Because the high wind speeds generated by cyclones are rare, scientists do not have corresponding ground information to know how to translate data from the satellite for wind speeds above 50 knots (about 93 kilometers per hour or 58 miles per hour). Also, the unusually heavy rain found in a cyclone distorts the microwave pulses in a number of ways, making a conversion to accurate wind speed difficult. Instead, the scatterometer provides a nice picture of the relative wind speeds within the storm and shows wind direction. NASA image courtesy the QuikSCAT Science Team [ http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
| Title |
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
| Title |
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
| Title |
Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Haitang is shown here on the morning of July 20, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 05:15 UTC (3:15 p.m. local time), well after it come ashore onto mainland China and lost much of its power and been downgraded to a tropical storm. Four deaths in Taiwan are attributed to the storm as it passed over the island, and as many as 1 million people have been evacuated in mainland China. All flights out of the cities of Fuzhou and Quanzhou were cancelled in view of the danger of the storm. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
| Title |
Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Super Typhoon Haitang is shown here bearing down on Taiwan on the afternoon of July 17, 2005. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite at 04:40 UTC (12:40 p.m. Taipei time). At this time, the typhoon had built into a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, sufficient for it to be dubbed a super typhoon. Sustained winds were around 230 kilometers per hour (125 knots) with peak gusts as high as 280 km/hr (150 knots). The super typhoon by this time was projected to change course and come ashore in Taiwan. As it crosses the island, the storm will lose some of its strength, but may then rebuild as it crosses the Taiwan Straits and comes ashore again in eastern China. Projections call for it to land in Taiwan early on July 18, and then make landfall in mainland China on July 19. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Super Typhoon Haitang
| Title |
Super Typhoon Haitang |
| Description |
Typhoon Haitang is shown here as observed by NASA's QuikSCAT satellite on July 15, 2005, at 08:29 UTC (17:29 in Tokyo). At this time, the typhoon had 185 kilometer per hour (100 knots) sustained winds, giving it a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson tropical storm scale. Taiwan is located to the west of the storm, not far off the typhoon's path at the time. The image depicts wind speed in color and wind direction with small barbs. White barbs point to areas of heavy rain. The highest wind speeds, shown in purple, surround the center of the storm. Measurements of the wind strength of Typhoon Haitang show sustained winds much stronger than those shown by QuikSCAT observations. This is because the power of the storm makes accurate measurements difficult. The scatterometer sends pulses of microwave energy through the atmosphere to the ocean surface, and measures the energy that bounces back from the wind-roughened surface. The energy of the microwave pulses changes depending on wind speed and direction, giving scientists a way to monitor wind around the world. Tropical cyclones (the generic term for hurricanes and typhoons), however, are difficult to measure. To relate the radar energy return to actual wind speed, scientists compare measurements taken from buoys and other ground stations to data the satellite acquired at the same time and place. Because the high wind speeds generated by cyclones are rare, scientists do not have corresponding ground information to know how to translate data from the satellite for wind speeds above 50 knots (about 93 kilometers per hour or 58 miles per hour). Also, the unusually heavy rain found in a cyclone distorts the microwave pulses in a number of ways, making a conversion to accurate wind speed difficult. Instead, the scatterometer provides a nice picture of the relative wind speeds within the storm and shows wind direction. NASA image courtesy the QuikSCAT Science Team [ http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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Typhoon Haitang Floods Taiwa
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| 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
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| 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 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 Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a building storm in the western Pacific several hundred kilometers south of Japan when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on August 29, 2005. At this time, 1:25 p.m. Tokyo time, it had sustained winds of around 180 kilometers an hour (115 miles per hour) and was heading towards Taiwan at around 15 miles per hour. As of August 30, was being predicted to continue to gather up stronger winds and to strike Taiwan on September 2, and then continue across the Taiwan Strait to make landfall again on mainland China perhaps a day later. The typhoon should reach Category 4 strength, making it another super typhoon, by the time it strikes Taiwan, but should be a weaker Category 1 regular typhoon when it comes ashore on the mainland. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005241-0829/Talim.A2005241.0425 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a powerful super typhoon in the western Pacific when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on August 30, 2005. At this time, 11:00 a.m. Tokyo time, it had sustained winds of around 250 kilometers an hour (155 miles per hour) and was heading towards Taiwan at around 15 miles per hour. It was predicted to continue to build strength and strike Taiwan on September 2, and then to continue across the Taiwan Strait to make landfall again on mainland China perhaps a day later. The typhoon was at Category 4 strength as of August 30, making it another super typhoon. It should be a weaker Category 1 regular typhoon when it comes ashore on the mainland. It is the 13th named storm of the Pacific typhoon season, which has seen a record number of storms, and in particular, super typhoons. The large image provided above has a resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides the image in additional resolutions [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005242-0830/Talim.A2005242.0200 ], including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC |
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Typhoon Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a weakening typhoon in the Taiwan Straits when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image at 12:50 p.m. Tapei time on September 1, 2005. It had sustained winds of around 120 kilometers an hour (70 miles per hour). The typhoon was predicted to weaken to a tropical storm in the hours immediately after this image was acquired. The outer edge of the storm started to rain onto Taiwan on August 31, where it brought down very heavy rains throughout the eastern portions of the island. It is the 13th named storm of the Pacific typhoon season, which has seen a record number of storms, and in particular, super typhoons. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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Typhoon Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. 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). 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 Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. 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). 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 Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Taiwan took a direct hit from powerful Typhoon Talim on August 31, 2005. At the time, the storm was a Category 3 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 200 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour) by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm cut directly across the island leaving at least 6 people dead. Talim then continued on to mainland China where there were 14 confirmed fatalities and another 15 persons missing. Nine of the fatalities and all the missing persons are a direct result of mudslides. These images of Talim were captured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM [ http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]) satellite as the storm bore down first on Taiwan and then on China. The first image was taken at 12:24 UTC (8:24 p.m. Tapei time) on August 30, 2005, as the storm approached Taiwan. TRMM reveals that Talim had a large inner eye surrounded by a complete inner eyewall, which can be identified by the inner ring of moderate- intensity rain (the inner green ring) as well as an outer concentric eyewall (larger green ring). This double-eyewall structure can occur in mature, intense tropical cyclones. The second image was taken on August 31, just before the storm made landfall over Taiwan when Talim was a Category 4 typhoon with maximum sustained winds estimated at 210 km/hr (130 mph). The storm still displayed a double eyewall, with areas of very heavy rain, shown in red, in the outer ring. The third image shows Talim just after the center made landfall on the coast of mainland China. The image was taken at 1:38 p.m. Taipei time (05:38 UTC) on September 1, 2005. The inner eyewall is completely gone in this image with the storm having been disrupted by its passage over the mountainous terrain of Taiwan. At the time of this image, Talim was a Category 1 typhoon with sustained winds of 130 km/hr (80 mph). Talim quickly lost strength after coming ashore, though it continued to cause flooding and mudslides. Launched in 1997, the TRMM satellite has served as a valuable platform for monitoring tropical cyclones, especially over remote parts of the ocean. The images show the horizontal distribution of rain intensity looking down on the storm. 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). 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 Talim
| Title |
Typhoon Talim |
| Description |
Typhoon Talim was a powerful super typhoon in the western Pacific when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image on August 31, 2005 at 11:20 a.m. Tokyo time. It had sustained winds of around 200 kilometers an hour (120 miles per hour) and was heading towards Taiwan at around 15 miles per hour. This is somewhat weaker than it was just a day before. The outer edge of the storm is starting to rain onto Taiwan in this image, and the full storm should make landfall in the next day. The typhoon will continue to weaken as it travels over the island, then continue across the Taiwan Strait to make landfall again on mainland China. It is the 13th named storm of the Pacific typhoon season, which has seen a record number of storms, and in particular, super typhoons. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team. |
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