NASA’s Aqua Satellite Sees Tropical Storm Haikui Make Landfall in China

A visible image of Tropical Storm Haikui was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 8, 2012 at 0520 UTC (1:20 a.m. EDT) after it made landfall south of Shanghai, China. The image shows high thunderstorms around the center that cast shadows on the lower surrounding storms. Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team Larger image

Typhoon Haikui weakened to a tropical storm just before landfall in China. Eight hours after landfall, NASA’s Aqua satellite still showed a strong and organized tropical storm moving inland.

China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC) said that Tropical Storm Haikui, made landfall in Zhejiang province on August 8 at 3:20 a.m. local time (19:20 UTC or 3:20 p.m. EDT/U.S., August 7), about 140 miles (225 km) south of Shanghai. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center’s last official warning on Haikui was issued on August 8 at 0300 UTC (11 a.m. local time/Shanghai). At that time Haikui’s maximum sustained winds were near 60 knots (69 mph/111.1 kmh) and it was located about 95 miles south of Shanghai, near 29.7 North latitude and 121.3 East longitude. It was moving to the northwest at 9 knots (10.3 mph/16.6 kmh).

By 5 p.m. EDT Shanghai local time on August 8 Haikui was located near the city of Huzhou. NMC reported heavy rainfall with totals as high as 17 inches (434 millimeters) in Xiangshan, Taizhou, and Ninghai, all located in the southeast coastal province of Zhejiang.

A visible image of Tropical Storm Haikui was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies onboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 8, 2012 at 0520 UTC (1:20 a.m. EDT/1:20 p.m. Shanghai local time) after it made landfall south of Shanghai, China. The MODIS image showed an organized tropical storm with high thunderstorms around the center that cast shadows on the lower surrounding storms. Those higher thunderstorms were likely dropping heavy rainfall.

Haikui is moving northwest and is expected to weaken and dissipate over land in the next couple of days.

Text Credit: Rob Gutro NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.