Super Typhoon Nuri

Super Typhoon Nuri

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite on the Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of Super Typhoon Nuri at 1:42 a.m. local time (1642 Universal Time) on November 4, 2014. The image was created with the instrument’s day-night band, which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses light intensification to enable the detection of dim signals. The storm is lit by moonlight in the image above.

Around the time that the image was acquired, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported sustained wind speeds of 130 knots (150 miles or 240 kilometers per hour). That wind was down from the 155 knot (180 mph) winds that were reported all day on November 3.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense. Caption by Michael Carlowicz.