Severe tropical weather systems brought rain as well as wind to the western Pacific Ocean in June 2012. This image shows rainfall totals in the region from June 13 to 19. The heaviest rainfall—more than 600 millimeters, or 24 inches—appears in dark blue. The lightest—less than 75 millimeters or 3 inches—appears in light green. Trace amounts appear in pale yellow.
Superimposed on the rainfall totals are storm tracks, with darker shades of red corresponding with stronger storms. Guchol traveled roughly northward, east of the Philippines, and Talim skirted the coast of southeastern China. The heaviest rainfall occurred west of the Philippines and Taiwan, and southwest of Japan. A band of moderately heavy rain also followed the track of Guchol.
Talim was a tropical storm from June 18 to 20. Guchol strengthened to a tropical storm on June 12, to a typhoon on June 14, and to a super typhoon on June 16. It kept typhoon strength until June 19, when it began weakening to tropical storm force. The Mainichi reported that Guchol brought heavy rains and high winds to eastern and northeastern Japan.
This map is based on data from the Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis produced at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, which estimates rainfall by combining measurements from many satellites and calibrating them using rainfall measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite.
References & Resources
- The Mainichi. (2012, June 20) Typhoon weakens after hitting Japan, 1 killed, 1 missing. Accessed June 21, 2012.
- Unisys Weather. (2012, June 21) Guchol Tracking Information. Accessed June 21, 2012.
- Unisys Weather. (2012, June 21) Talim Tracking Information. Accessed June 21, 2012.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the TRMM Science Data and Information System at Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.
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