image: The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite flew over Typhoon Goni at 2:15 UTC on Aug. 24 as the storm moved through the East China Sea. view more
Credit: Credits: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team
Typhoon Goni continued on its northern track and NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of the storm moving through the East China Sea early on August 24.
The MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite flew over Typhoon Goni at 2:15 UTC on Aug. 24 and captured a visible image of the weakening storm. Despite slight weakening, Goni still had an eye and it appeared to be about 16 nautical miles wide. That eye was surrounded by bands of powerful thunderstorms.
Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect Goni to make landfall in Kyushu, Japan on August 25 and move north, northwest through the Sea of Japan, making a final landfall in Vladivostok, Russia on August 26. Vladivostok is located at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, close to Russia's borders with North Korea and China.
At 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) on August 24, Typhoon Goni had maximum sustained winds near 110 knots (126 mph/203 kph). It was centered near 29.6 North latitude and 128.8 East longitude, about 215 nautical miles (247.2 miles/398.2 km) south-southwest of Sasebo, Japan. Goni was moving to the northeast at 22 knots (25.3 mph/40.7 kph).
Goni is moving quickly to the northeast and is beginning to weaken. Vertical wind shear is increasing as the storm moves north which is weakening the storm. Additionally, it will weaken as it interacts with the land of southern Japan and moves into the cooler waters of the Sea of Japan.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects that Goni will pass southwestern Japan and become extra-tropical when it is off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula.
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