Though much weaker than Typhoon Saola, Tropical Storm Damrey was forecast to make landfall on the coast of China in early August 2012. AccuWeather reported that the storms would be “likely within 500 miles [800 kilometers] and 18 hours of each other.”
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of Tropical Storm Damrey on July 30, 2012. The same day that MODIS acquired this image, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Damrey was located roughly 175 nautical miles (325 kilometers) east-northeast of Iwo Jima. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 45 knots (85 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 55 knots (100 kilometers per hour).
The JTWC’s projected storm track showed Damrey making landfall between August 2 and 3. AccuWeather reported that the storm might bring heavy rains and high winds. The storm continued moving toward southeastern China on August 1 and August 2.
- Joint Typhoon Warning Center. (2012, July 30) Tropical Storm 11W (Damrey) Warning. [Online] URL: http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/warnings/wp1112web.txt. Accessed July 30, 2012.
- Pydynowski, K. (2012, July 30) Tropical double whammy for China. AccuWeather.com. Accessed July 30, 2012.
This image originally appeared on the Earth Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.