A thunderstorm in the center of Typhoon Ruby (international name Hagupit) is almost 15 kilometers tall.
This is just one of the discoveries made by the US National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Global Precipitation
Measurement (GPM), which flew almost directly above the typhoon Friday
while Ruby was approaching the Philippines.
The GPM's microwave imager instrument also measured rain falling at a
rate of over 76 mm (almost 3 inches) per hour in the typhoon's eyewall,
according to NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM).
The TRMM also said rain measured by the GMI was falling at "most
extreme rate" of almost 100.9 mm (almost 4 inches) per hour in powerful
storms on the southern side of Ruby's eye.
The Goddard Space Flight Center's Rob Gutro said in a report Friday
that another satellite, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite flew over the
typhoon on December 5 and the VIIRS instrument showed a 12-mile
(19-kilometer) wide eye.
The International Space Station's RapidScat instrument also captured
data on Ruby's winds. It found sustained winds of at least 30 meters per
second (108 kph) around the eye of the storm.
"Typhoon-force winds extend out 40 nautical miles (74 km) from the
center, while tropical-storm-force winds extend out to 120 miles (222
km)," Gutro said.
He cited a Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) forecast that said
Ruby will maintain intensity until it starts interacting with land
Saturday before it will rapidly weaken.
Tags: Typhoon Ruby, ruby, hagupit
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