Tropical Cyclone Kujira whirls over the northwestern Pacific Ocean toward the Phillipines in this true-color Aqua MODIS image acquired March 14, 2003. Kujira was packing 110 knot winds (1 knot = 1.15 mph) at the time this image was acquired with gusts up to 135 knots. Over the next two days, Kujira is expected to strengthen to 125 knot sustained winds (150 knot gusts), making it into a category 4 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm was moving west-northwest so rapidly that it was almost out of the scene at the time this image was acquired.
The high-resolution image provided above is 1000 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS? maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.
