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Sept. 15, 2016
Meranti (was 16W - Northwestern Pacific Ocean)
Once a Super Typhoon, Meranti made landfall in southeastern China late on Sept. 14 as NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed overhead from space. Previously, NASA's CloudSat satellite provided a sideways look at the storm when it was near its peak.
Image above: CloudSat analyzed Typhoon Meranti on Sept. 13 at 1:12 a.m. EDT (0512 UTC) as the storm was approaching Taiwan. CloudSat found cloud top heights averaging around 16 km with heavy rainfall (deep red and pink colors). Areas of green and blue denote smaller ice and water particle sizes typically located at top of the system (in the anvil area). Image Credits: Natalie Tourville/Colorado State University.
NASA's CloudSat satellite passed over Typhoon Meranti on Sept.13 at 1:12 a.m. EDT (512 UTC) as the storm was approaching Taiwan. The system contained sustained winds of 160 knots with a minimum pressure of 898 millibars designating this system as a ’Super Typhoon.’
CloudSat found cloud top heights averaging around 16 km with heavy rainfall. CloudSat also saw areas of smaller ice and water particle sizes typically located at top of the system in the anvil area.
On Sept. 15 at 12:35 a.m. EDT (04:35 UTC) NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over Tropical Storm Meranti as it was making landfall in southeastern China. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of the storm that showed most of the storm had already blanketed southeastern China with clouds and rain.
Image above: On Sept. 15 at 12:35 a.m. EDT (04:35 UTC) NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Meranti as it was making landfall in southeastern China. Image Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response/NOAA.
The final warning on the storm was issued on Sept. 14 at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 UTC) from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). At that time, Meranti was making landfall in southeastern China near Xiamen in Fujian Province. At the time of landfall, Meranti's maximum sustained winds were near 145 mph (126 knots/233 kph), making it a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
JTWC expects Meranti's winds to drop to 40 mph (35 knots/64.2 kph) during the day on Sept. 15 and weaken to 23 mph (20 knots/37 kph)3by Sept. 16 as it curves to the north over land.
Related links:
NASA's CloudSat satellite: http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/
NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/NPP/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Rob Gutro.
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