October 11, 2018 - Tropical Cyclone Luban

Cyclone Luban

On October 9, 2018, the Tropical Cyclone Luban was spinning in the Arabian Sea, threatening to strike Yemen or Oman. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired a true-color image of the strengthening storm on that same day. At the time the image was captured, Luban had a cloud-filled center with and a loose apostrophe-shape.

At 5:00 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on October 9, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that the center of Luban was located near latitude 13.2 degrees north and 60.1 degrees east. That’s about 479 miles (771 km) east-southeast of Salalah, Oman. Luban was moving towards the west-northwest and carrying maximum sustained winds of 63 mph (102 km/h).

On the morning of October 10, the JTWC reported that Luban’s maximum sustained winds had increased to about 86 mph (138 km/h) with gusts to 90 mph (145 km/h), bringing it to a Category 1 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It was located approximately 379 mi (608 km) southeast of Salalah, Oman and is tracking northwestward.

The environment is marginally favorable for strengthening, with light vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures. Tropical Cyclone Luban is expect to drift more westward, picking up speed by October 12, then make landfall over eastern Yemen on October 13. It will weaken fairly quickly over the dry terrain of Yemen. Dust storms are likely ahead of the storm’s landfall, and heavy rain on the arid region can bring danger from flooding.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/9/2018
Resolutions: 1km (3.2 MB), 500m (8.4 MB), 250m (6.8 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC