On August 6, 2018, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite acquired this image of Typhoon Shanshan approaching the coast of Japan.
The typhoon was predicted to make landfall on the country's mainland on August 8, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. On August 7, the maximum wind speeds near the center of the storm were 70 knots (130 kilometers or 80 miles per hour). The storm is considered "strong," the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The storm was expected to bring rain to Tokyo and then travel northeast, although the storm is expected to weaken as it approaches land.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Caption by Kasha Patel.
