NASA's Aqua satellite observed Typhoon Kalmaegi crossing the South China Sea and a satellite image from the MODIS instrument aboard made it look like a whirlpool of clouds.
On Sunday, September 14, Kalmaegi passed over northern Luzon, Philippines and emerged into the South China Sea. Typhoon Kalmaegi's maximum sustained winds were near 65 knots (75 mph) making it a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it moved over the Philippines.
On September 15 at 05:15 UTC (1:15 a.m. EDT) the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of Typhoon Kalmaegi now fully in the South China Sea. The MODIS image showed tight bands of thunderstorms spiraling into the center from the southern quadrant to the northern quadrant, like a giant whirlpool of clouds. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that a large band of thunderstorms were also building around the western edge of the typhoon.
Maximum sustained winds had increased to 75 knots (86.3 mph/18.9 kph) by 1200 UTC (8 a.m. EDT) on September 15. The center was located near 19.1 east latitude and 113.6 east longitude, about 204 nautical miles south of Hong Kong, and was moving west-northwestward at 17 knots (19.5 mph/31.4 kph). Kalmaegi is generating waves up to 22 feet (6.7 km) in the South China Sea.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast calls for Kalmaegi to graze northern Hainan Island, move through the Gulf of Tonkin and make landfall just north Hanoi late on September 16. Strong Wind signal #3 is currently in effect in Hong Kong.
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Tropical Depression 15W intensified during the early morning hours of September 12 and became a tropical storm re-named "Kalmaegi." NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead as the storm intensified.
The MODIS instrument, known as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm Kalmaegi approaching the Philippines on Sept. 12 at 4:45 UTC (12:45 a.m. EDT). The image showed tightly-curved bands of thunderstorms over the northern and southern quadrants of the storm that were wrapping into a consolidating low-level center. The consolidation of the center and the banding of thunderstorms are conducive to a strengthening storm, and forecasters expect Kalmaegi to continue strengthening over the next couple of days.
On Friday, September 12 at 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) Tropical Storm Kalmaegi's maximum sustained winds were near 40 knots (46 mph/74 kph). Kalmaegi was centered near 13.8 north latitude and 130.2 east, about 572 nautical miles (658.2 miles/1,059 km) east of Manila, Philippines. Kalmaegi was moving to the west at 14 knots (16.1 mph/25.9 kph).
Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center forecast Kalmaegi to become a typhoon (same thing as a hurricane, but west of the International Date Line) by September 13. Kalmaegi is forecast to cross Luzon, the northern Philippines, from southeast to northwest on September 14 before entering the South China Sea and heading for another landfall south of Hong Kong.
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Tropical Depression 15W is moving through the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and infrared satellite data from NASA took a closer look at the thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone. The depression appears to be consolidating and getting better organized.
NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Depression 15W on September 11 at 03:53 UTC (Sept. 10 at 11:53 p.m. EDT) and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard captured infrared data on the storm. The infrared data showed very cold temperatures in some of the cloud tops of thunderstorms that make up the tropical cyclone. The infrared data also showed a slowly-consolidating center of circulation.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center that forecasts tropical cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean also looked at microwave data from the European EUMETSAT METOP satellite. That microwave data showed that there were fragmented bands of thunderstorms in the northern and southern quadrants of the storm, wrapping into the center.
At 0900 UTC (5 a.m. EDT) on September 11, 2014, Tropical Depression 15W (TD15W) had maximum sustained winds near 30 knots (34.5 mph/55.5 kph). It was located near 13.1 north latitude and 137.8 east longitude, about 193 nautical miles (222 miles/357 km) north of Yap./ TD15W has tracked northwestward at 20 knots (23 mph/37 kph) and is expected to continue in that general direction over the next couple of days.
TD15W is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm and later to typhoon strength as it approaches Luzon, the northern Philippines, on October 14. Current forecasts from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center take the storm over the far northern tip of Luzon and into the South China Sea by September 15 as a typhoon.
Rob Gutro
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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