Typhoon Morakot Cloud Top Extent Doubled In Size in One DayAugust 07, 2009Satellite imagery over the last two days has shown Typhoon Morakot to be a monster, and over the last two days, NASA satellites have confirmed the typhoon doubled its size! "Our satellite scan swath width is 1700 kilometers (1,056 miles) and Morakot looks to be almost that much in diameter in the infrared imagery on August 5," said Ed Olsen, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Olsen provides images for the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on the Aqua satellite. "On August 4 Morakot was only about 1/2 the width of our swath width, near 850 kilometers (528 miles) in diameter!" To put it into perspective, 1,056 miles is longer than the distance from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Orlando, Florida. Olsen said that it's important to know that satellite image represents the lateral extent of the cold cloud tops and that the winds definitely do not extend over an area 1,000 miles in diameter. AIRS captured an infrared image of Typhoon Morakot tracking through the East China Sea on August 6 at 12:35 a.m. EDT (0435 UTC). At 11 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, Morakot was closing in on Taiwan and was located 240 miles east-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan, near 23.2 north and 125.0 east. Morakot the monster has maximum sustained winds near 92 mph (80 knots) and was moving west near 14 mph. AIRS provides visible, infrared and microwave images of tropical storms. AIRS also measures cloud top temperature and pressure and the profile of water vapor as functions of height. Infrared imagery shows the temperature of the cloud tops which gives a hint about the power of the thunderstorms in a tropical cyclone. The colder the clouds are, the higher they are, and the more powerful the thunderstorms are that make up the cyclone. Typhoon Morakot is forecast to strengthen more before it crosses northern Taiwan later today and makes a final landfall in China by the weekend. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center |
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| Related Typhoon Current Events and Typhoon News Articles Cyclone Phyan raining on Tibet after breaking a record in India Cyclone Phyan broke a 43 year record when it made landfall north of the city of Mumbai, India during the evening hours on November 11. NASA's Aqua satellite captured Phyan's landfall with one instrument, and a day later, another of Aqua's instruments show the storm's remnants raining Tibet as Phyan continues to dissipate. NASA sees high thunderstorms in newly formed Tropical Cyclone 4A near India Tropical Cyclone 4A formed yesterday, November 10 off the western coast of India in the Arabian Sea, and NASA's infrared imagery captured some high, powerful thunderstorms developing in the storm's center. Typhoon Mirinae is already scaring Philippine residents before Halloween Another typhoon in the northern Philippines really is something to be scared about, and Mirinae is expected to make landfall there in the mid-morning hours on Halloween, October 31. Mirinae intensifying while moving away from the northern Marianas Typhoon Mirinae is moving west and away from the Northern Marianas Islands on a track to a landfall in the Philippines by the weekend. As Mirinae has moved west, NASA's infrared and microwave satellite imagery have seen high, strong thunderstorm development, and a developing eye. Microwave satellite imagery shows an eye developing in Mirinae Microwave satellite imagery has revealed that Tropical Storm Mirinae is strengthening enough to develop an eye, and that's what it's doing. Mirinae was formerly Tropical Depression 23W, but became a tropical storm and received its name. NASA Satellite Tracking Typhoon Lupit on a March Toward the Northern Philippines Three instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite captured views of Typhoon Lupit on its western track toward the Philippines and are helping forecasters get an idea of its strength and behavior. Lupit strengthened quickly in 24 hours from a tropical depression to a typhoon, between October 15 and 16. Tropical Storm Nepartak becoming extra-tropical at sea Tropical Storm Nepartak is now speeding in a northeasterly direction in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, where it is becoming extra-tropical and developing frontal qualities. NASA's TRMM satellite captures Typhoon Melor as it reaches Japan Melor began as a tropical depression back on the 29th of September 2009 about 1000 miles (~1600 km) east-southeast of Guam in the Northern Mariana Islands. Typhoon Melor and Tropical Storm Parma mean double trouble in the western Pacific There's double-trouble in the Western Pacific with one typhoon and one tropical storm bringing soaking rains, dangerous surf and gusty winds to two different locations. Typhoon Melor is affecting the east coast of Japan and watches and warnings are up today. Further south, Tropical Storm Parma continues to rain on Luzon in the northern Philippines. 2 NASA satellites capture monster Super Typhoon Melor NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites flew over Super Typhoon Melor early today, October 5 and captured some impressive images of the storm's clouds on a track toward Japan. The Western Pacific Ocean has the edge on super typhoons, and Melor's maximum sustained winds near 161 mph are more proof. More Typhoon Current Events and Typhoon News Articles |
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