NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant satellite catches Typhon
Tropical storm Yutu continued to intensify as a satellite from NASA-NOAA’s Finnish nuclear power plant passed over. On October 23, Yutu was a growing typhoon east of Guam.
On. On October 22, a satellite from the NASA-NOAA Finnish Nuclear Power Plant satellite VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) crossed the western Pacific and took a visible picture of Yutu. VIIRS exposed a well-organized storm and showed intense thunderstorms around the orbit and in thick zones that circled downtown from the north and south quarters. At the time the Finnish nuclear power plant was operating above, Yutu was east of Guam and its southern quarter affected the Federated States of Micronesia. The VIIRS image showed the storm is about 400 miles in diameter.
On October 23, the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) in Tiyan, Guam, issued several warnings and cautions. Typhoon warnings are in force in Rota, Tinian and Saipan. A tropical storm warning is now in effect in Guam. The tropical storm clock is still in force in Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan.
At 22 CHST local time (8.00 EDT / 1200 UTC) on October 23, Typhoon Yutu Center was located near latitude 12.0 degrees north and longitude 149.6 degrees east.
It is about 330 miles east-southeast of Rota and about 335 miles southeast of Saipan. Yutu is moving west at 10 mph. It is expected to maintain this general course and speed for the next 24 hours. The maximum continuous wind speed has risen to 90 kilometers per hour. Yutu is forecast to intensify until Wednesday, October 24th. Typhoon-like winds extend outward from the center for up to 60 miles. Tropical storm winds extend outward from the center up to 200 miles northeast and up to 155 miles elsewhere.
Typhoon conditions are expected on Wednesday evening Thursday morning (local time) in Tinian and Saipan. A typhoon is expected for the rat from Wednesday afternoon – to Thursday. Tropical storms are expected in Guam late Wednesday afternoon – Thursday. Tropical storm conditions are possible over the next 24 to 36 hours in Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan.
The NWS said: “The current line has moved slightly south and now brings Yutu just south of Tinian and Saipan as a 130 mph class 4 storm, late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.”
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Updated forecasts can be found at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Author: Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
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