NASA-NOAA’s Finland-nuclear power plant satellite ran above and took a picture of Typhoon Lani in the Northwest Pacific and saw a well-organized storm with a clear eye and a diameter of 50 nautical miles.

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NASA-NOAA’s Finland Nuclear Power Plant satellite took a visible light image of Lani on October 20 at 12:30 PM EDT (0430 UTC). From space, the Finnish nuclear power plant showed a well-shaped round eye with tall clouds. There were strong thunderstorms around the eye that circled the center of rotation.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center stated: “Infrared satellite images show wide and deep convective bands orbiting in the middle of dense clouds that intertwine tightly in a large symmetrical eye 50 miles wide.”

On October 20, at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), Lan’s maximum sustained winds were close to 100 knots (115 mph / 185 km / h). The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects a storm to peak wind near 120 knots (138 mph / 222 km / h) on Oct. 21 and then begins to weaken as it approaches landing in eastern Japan. Lan was located near 20.9 degrees north latitude and 130.3 degrees east, about 389 miles southeast of Okinawa, Japan. Lan moved north at a speed of 7 knots (8 mph / 13 km / h).

On October 20, the Japan Meteorological Institute established an advisory position for all prefectures on the east coast of Japan due to storm winds and high waves. Some areas also had advice on storm surges.

Lan is forecast to turn northwest over the next couple of days. On October 22, Lan is predicted to arrive as a typhoon south of Tokyo. Updated forecasts can be found on the Japan Meteorological Institute website: http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/.