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WIPHA MAKES LANDFALL IN CHINA
This unique image shows the remains of Typhoon Wipha about 16 hours after the center made
landfall near Cangnan in southern Zhejiang province on the east coast of China. The image
was taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite at 11:11 UTC (7:11 pm
local time) on the 19th of September 2007 and shows the horizontal pattern of rain intensity
within the storm. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM PR, and those in
the outer swath come from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on
infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). At this stage, Wipha no
longer has a defined eye. Instead, the center of circulation is surrounded by broken areas
of mostly light rain (blue areas). Most of the rain is farther to the north (larger blue
area). Most tropical cyclones weaken rather quickly after making landfall. Wipha was a
Category 3 typhoon just before landfall with sustained winds estimated at 100 knots (115 mph)
by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. At the time of the TRMM overpass, sustained winds were
down to 50 knots (58 mph). Without active deep convection near the center to fuel the storm,
the circulation will spin down.
Wipha became a tropical storm on the 16th of September in the central Philippine Sea. The
system followed a northwestward track and quickly intensified to a Category 4 storm as it
approached Taiwan. Although the center passed northeast of Taiwan, Wipha was blamed for one
fatality on the island. So far, 2 persons have been reported dead as a result of the storm
in China.
TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.
Images produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)
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