 |
 |
||
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
 |
Planetary News: Earth (2007)Earth from Space: Typhoon Usagi Approaches JapanAugust 7, 2007
Category 4 Typhoon Usagi was stretched across the Pacific Ocean southeast of Japan in a long oval shape when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on August 1, 2007. The spiraling bands of rain clouds in the northwest quadrant of the storm appear to be reaching out for the islands of Shikoku and Honshu. Several large cities -- and millions of residents -- occupy these southern islands. When Terra MODIS captured this image, Typhoon Usagi was at its maximum intensity. With its tightly wound bands of clouds, nearly symmetrical shape, and well-defined eye, Usagi bore the hallmarks of an extremely powerful tropical cyclone. At the time, the storm packed sustained winds of 222 kilometers per hour (138 miles per hour) with gusts to 269 kilometers per hour (167 miles per hour). Usagi weakened slightly in the hours that followed, and finally struck Japan late on August 2, bringing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour (110 miles per hour). Usagi is the fifth named storm in the western Pacific in 2007, and it is the second Category 4 storm to form in July. Its predecessor, Man-Yi, also troubled Japan. It pounded Okinawa and then veered northeastward, raking the east coast of the southern islands. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, August and September are the most active months for tropical cyclones in this part of the Pacific, with an average of 5.5 and 5.1 storms, respectively.
|
||||||
 |
 |
||||||
[ what is this? ]