Hurricane Ele became Typhoon Ele as it crossed the International Date Line this past weekend. The typhoon/hurricane be seen in the central Pacific in this true-color image taken on September 2, 2002, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA’s Terra spacecraft. As of September 4, the typhoon was several hundred miles east of the International Date Line and making its way north through the Pacific, packing sustained winds of up to 92 miles (148 kilometers) per hour. The hurricane is expected to change direction and move northwest before dropping in intensity and turning into a tropical storm.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC