October 8, 2020 - Typhoon Chan-hom

Typhoon Chan-hom

On October 7, 2020, Typhoon Chan-hom was spinning and strengthening over the Western Pacific Ocean. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of Chan-hom as it was transitioning from a tropical storm to a typhoon on that same day. The image showed that Typhoon Chan-hom sported a ragged cloud-filled eye with northeasterly frontal flow wrapping into the storm.

At 2100 UTC (5 p.m. EDT) on October 7, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) stated that Chan-hom was located about 323 mi (520 km) east of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan. Maximum sustained winds were registered at about 80.5 mph (129.5 km/h) and the storm was moving to the northwestward at 9 mph (14 km/h). Environmental conditions remain favorable, with low vertical wind shear and warm sea surface temperatures.

Typhoon Chan-hom is forecast to turn poleward and track northwest to northward for the next 36 hours as it recurves. The JTWC states that there is still uncertainty with how tight the turn toward the northeast will be, which will greatly influence potential impacts to mainland Japan. It is expected to strengthen to about 92 mph (148 km/h) on October 8. After that time, it is forecast to accelerate east-northeastward along and near the southern coast of Japan. During that time, the forecast is for Chan-hom to steadily weaken for the next several days.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/7/2020
Resolutions: 1km (948 KB), 500m (2.5 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC