October 14, 2018 - Typhoon Luban

Typhoon Luban

On October 11, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of Tropical Cyclone Luban as it crawled across the Arabian Sea towards Yemen and Oman. The storm is the third to develop in the Arabian Sea in 2018. The region is a major crossroads for ships passing from the Atlantic and Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean by way of the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz.

According to the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Luban had sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) around midday on October 11. Maximum wave heights were estimated at 26 feet (8 meters). The storm was centered about 250 miles (400 kilometers) southeast of Salalah, Oman, and moving westward at just 2 knots (2.3 miles per hour).

By the evening of October 13, Tropical Cyclone Luban’s maximum sustained winds had decreased to 46 mph (74 km/h) and the storm had gotten closer to Oman. JTWC estimated the location of the center to be about 140 mi (225 km) south of Salalah and had picked up speed, tracking westward to 9 knots (10.3 mph).

Luban is expected to make landfall north of Mukalla, Yemen early on October 14, then track west-northwestward over land as it weakens. Forecasters warned of dangerous landslides and flash flooding when the storm hits the normally bone-dry, sandy lands.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 10/11/2018
Resolutions: 1km (2.5 MB), 500m (6.8 MB), 250m (5.6 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC