August 10, 2019 - Super Typhoon Lekima approaching China

Typhoon Lekima was charging the eastern coast of China on August 9, 2019, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the storm. At the time the image was captured, the Lekima sported a small eye surrounded by a thick, powerful ring of thunderstorms and a large band of thunderstorms extending north of center. Bands of rain were already affecting the Chinese coast.

At about 1:00 am local time on August 10 (1:00 p.m. August 9 EDT), Typhoon Lekima made landfall in the eastern province of Zhejiang, according to CNN. It was carrying maximum sustained winds of 109 mph (175 km/h) as it struck land, bringing it to Category 2 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Typhoon Lekima is expected to turn northward to track along eastern China, bringing heavy rain to Zhejiang, northern Fujian, eastern and southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, southeastern Anhui, and Taiwan Island. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center predicts that Lekima will quickly weaken as it travels across land and dissipate within 3-4 days.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/9/2019
Resolutions: 1km (2.2 MB), 500m (6 MB), 250m (4.8 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC