Sanba formed as a tropical depression over the western Pacific Ocean on September 10, 2012, and strengthened to a typhoon by September 12. On September 13, 2012, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Sanba had maximum sustained winds of 135 knots (250 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 165 knots (305 kilometers per hour). Located roughly 600 nautical miles (1,100 kilometers) south of Kadena Air Base in Japan, the storm was headed for the Korean Peninsula.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of Typhoon Sanba on September 13, 2012. Clouds from the typhoon extended over part of the Philippines (image lower left).
The JTWC forecast that Sanba would strengthen slightly over the next 12 hours, with sustained winds reaching up to 140 knots (260 kilometers per hour).
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
