October 1, 2015 - Typhoon Dujuan (21W) approaching Taiwan

Typhoon Dujuan (21W) approaching Taiwan

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite captured a true-color image of Typhoon Dujuan approaching Taiwan on September 27, 2015. The large storm was characterized by dense clouds swirling tightly around a large, partially cloud-filled eye and it was moving westward towards Taiwan. Clouds carrying thunderstorms were already reaching Taiwan, the southern islands of Japan and, to the southwest, the Philippines. The storm was intensifying and reached super typhoon status with winds of 144 mph (231.7 km/h), or the equivalent of a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale.

Dujuan made landfall near the town of Nan’ao on the islands’ mountainous northeast coast the next day, September 28. The storm came ashore with sustained winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) and brought both damaging winds and severe, torrential rain. A wind gust of 181 mph (291 km/h) was reported on Yonagunijima, a southern island of Japan.

The typhoon caused hundreds of injuries and three deaths in Taiwan before weakening and heading west to China. Dujuan made landfall in southeastern China in the early morning of September 29. The Weather Channel reports that Dujuan was a minimal typhoon at landfall, with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (119 km/h) at landfall.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued their final bulletin on Dujuan early on September 29, when the storm was moving inland over eastern China. By the evening of the same day, Dujuan was a minimal tropical storm and had moved well inland. Although the winds had diminished, the heavy rains still carry a risk of triggering flash floods or landslide.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 9/27/2015
Resolutions: 1km (1.1 MB), 500m (3.7 MB), 250m (8.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC