August 24, 2016 - Tropical Storm Lionrock (12W) off Japan

Tropical Storm Lionrock (12W) off Japan

On August 23, 2016, NASA’s Terra satellite flew over Tropical Storm Lionrock as it spun in the ocean off of Japan, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard to capture a stunning true-color image of the storm.

At the time this image was captured, Lionrock was strengthening and consolidating as convective bands began to wrap more tightly into the distinct, cloud-filled center of circulation. The system appeared to be elongated on the northeast to southwest axis, evidence of less-than-ideal conditions for storm development. Rain bands on the northwestern quadrant approached the Japanese island of Honshu.

At 2100 UTC on August 23 (5:00 p.m. EDT) – not quite twelve hours after this image was captured - the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC) reported that maximum sustained winds were at roughly 75 mph (120 km/h), making Lionrock the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane wind scale. At that time the storm was located near 25.8 N 133.1E, or approximately 342 mi (550 km) east of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and was tracking southwestward.

The forecast for Typhoon Lionrock is difficult, as it is trapped in a competing steering environment. The storm is predicted to drift southwestward to westward through August 25, then should accelerate northeastward while maintaining current strength. Most forecasts are not predicting significant threat to land from this storm, although there is some possibility that Lionrock may move over parts of Japan before departing on a northeasterly course.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 8/23/2016
Resolutions: 1km (640.4 KB), 500m (2.1 MB), 250m (5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC