October 17, 2014 - Tropical Storm Vongfong (19W) over Japan

Tropical Storm Vongfong (19W) over Japan

On October 7, 2014 Super Typhoon Vongfong grew to a Category 5 storm on October 7 – the fourth storm of the year to reach that top classification based on wind speed. It also became the largest storm to spin over Earth in 2014.

Fortunately, Vongfong had weakened considerably by the time it made landfall on the central part of Okinawa on October 12 about 12:30 a.m. JST (11:30 a.m. EDT Saturday Oct. 11). Winds of 89 mph (143 km/h) were reported at Kadena Air Base, consistent with a category 1 storm. Despite the weakening, 31 people were reported injured, and widespread power outages affected parts of the island.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) reported that Vongfong made landfall on the Japanese mainland as a minimal typhoon at about 8:30 a.m. JST on October 13 (7:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 12).

According to Accuweather, wind gusts over 57 mph (92 km/h) were reported in Tokyo along with heavy rains. Widespread rainfall of 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) was reported in Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu and eastern Hokkaido. News week reported at least 2 died and 100 were injured in the storm, and at least 600 flights were cancelled.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of Tropical Storm Vongfong hanging over Japan at 4:10 UTC (1:10 p.m. JST) on October 13. At that time the slow moving, sprawling storm covered Japan as it poured rain across the country.

As Vongfong pulled away from Japan, it made a transition to an extra-tropical storm as its core changed from warm to cold. It also battled southwesterly wind shear, which continued to weaken it further.

At 0300 UTC on Oct. 14, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center issued its final advisory on Tropical storm Vongfong. At that time Vongfong's center was located near 29.1 north latitude and 142.9 east longitude, about 111 nautical miles (127.7 miles/205.6 km) southeast of Misawa, Japan. Vongfong was moving to the northeast at a speedy 36 knots (41.4 mph/66.67 km/h). Vongfong's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph (65 km/h).

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 10/13/2014
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC