Typhoon Mirinae is already scaring Philippine residents before HalloweenOctober 30, 2009Another 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 will be the fourth major storm to hit the Philippines in one month bringing more rain to an already flood-weary region. NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite is already hard at work analyzing rainfall, to provide meteorologists with an idea of what can be expected when the storm hits. NASA and the Japanese Space Agency's TRMM satellite flew over Typhoon Mirinae on October 29 at 1018 UTC and measured its rainfall from space. Mirinae had moderate rainfall between .78 to 1.57 inches per hour around its center. TRMM images are made at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and take some ingenuity to create. A typical TRMM rainfall image combines the infrared and visible channels overlaid with a precipitation analysis from the TRMM Microwave Imager and PR instruments. The government of the Philippines isn't waiting for the storm to arrive. It is already sending evacuating people and sending in relief supplies. On October 29 at 11 a.m. EDT (11 p.m. Asia/Manila Time), Mirinae had maximum sustained winds near 90 knots (104 mph or 167 km/hour). Mirinae's center was about 480 nautical miles east of Manila, near 15.6 North and 128.7 East. It was still moving west near 12 knots (14 mph) and kicking up dangerous waves as high as 31 feet high. The environment that Typhoon Mirinie is in is enabling the storm to maintain intensity. Mirinae is in an area of light-to-moderate vertical wind shear. Strong wind shear (winds blowing at different levels of the atmosphere) can tear a storm apart, but that's not the case in the Philippine Sea where Mirinae is currently located. In addition, the sea surface temperatures remain warm there, in excess of 28 degrees Celsius (82 Fahrenheit). In order for a typhoon or hurricane to maintain intensity, it needs sea surface temperatures as warm as 80F. Current forecasts expect Mirinae's center to make landfall sometime around 8 a.m. Asia/Manila time on October 31, and after 12 hours, the storm is expected to move into the South China Sea. NASA/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. 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. NASA's Aqua Satellite sees Tropical Storm Parma lingering in the Luzon Strait Two instruments on NASA's Aqua satellite captured views of Tropical Storm Parma early today, October 5, while it was almost stationary in the Luzon Strait and it appears that it will sit there for several days. More Typhoon Current Events and Typhoon News Articles |
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