Hurricane Season 2010: Tropical Storm Chaba (Northwestern Pacific)

NASA's Aqua satellite flew over Typhoon Chaba early this morning and captured visible and infrared images of its clouds revealing a well-organized and strengthening typhoon.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on Aqua captured a visible image of Typhoon Chaba on October 26 at 04:50 UTC (12:50 a.m. EDT), as it moved through the Philippine Sea. To see the MODIS image, visit: http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2010299-1026/Chaba.A2010299.0450. Chaba is a large storm that stretches from the southern Philippines north to the Okinawa province of Japan.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of Typhoon Chaba's clouds three minutes before the MODIS instrument captured a visible image. The coldest, strongest, highest thunderstorm cloud tops were as cold or colder than -63 Fahrenheit. Comparisons of infrared image over the six hour period between 12:50 a.m. EDT and 6:50 a.m. EDT showed a sharp increase in colder cloud tops around the low-level circulation center of Chaba, indicating the storm is strengthening quickly.

At 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 26, Typhoon Chaba had maximum sustained winds near 75 knots (86 mph). It was about 430 nautical miles south-southeast of Kadena Air Base, Japan near 20.4 North and 128.1 East. It was moving northwestward near 5 knots (6 mph).

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecasts Chaba to pass just to the east of Kadena Air Base late in the early morning hours of Oct. 29 local time, Kadena/Toyko Time (late in the evening of Oct. 28 EDT). Chaba is then forecast to track northeast and make landfall in Japan between Kyoto and Toyko at night local time on Oct. 30 (morning hours EDT).

Text Credit: Rob Gutro

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD