Nepartak neared Taiwan on July 7, 2016. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image the same day.
As of July 7, China’s Hong Kong Observatory reported maximum sustained winds of 113 knots (210 kilometers per hour). The Observatory forecasted that Nepartak would continue its movement to the northwest, passing through Taiwan and then heading toward China after losing some of its strength.
The U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) recorded open-ocean waves as much as 40 feet high as the storm bore down on the island of Taipei.
Wind speeds recorded by a buoy off the coast of Taiwan surpassed the highest possible measurement on the instrument, which is monitored by the National Taiwan University.
References & Resources
- Hong Kong Observatory. (2016, July 6) Tropical Cyclone Track Information. Accessed July 6, 2016.
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center. (2016, July 5) Super Typhoon 02W (Nepartak) Warning #15. Accessed July 6, 2016.
- The Weather Channel.Early Wind Data Shows Nepartak Will Be an Epic Storm Accessed July 7, 2016.
NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption by Pola Lem.
