NASA's Aqua satellite provided infrared and visible views of Typhoon Lekima as it was approaching landfall in China.
On Aug. 9 at 12:41 a.m. EDT (441 UTC) the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Lekima's cloud top temperatures in infrared light.
The stronger the storms, the higher they extend into the troposphere, and they have the colder cloud temperatures.
AIRS found coldest cloud top temperatures as cold as or colder than minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 degrees Celsius) around the eye and in thick bands of thunderstorms wrapping into the center from the north and southeast.
On Aug 9 at 12:45 a.m. EDT (0445 UTC), the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that also flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite provided visible views of powerful Typhoon Lekima affecting China.
The satellite showed a clear, small, rounded eye surrounded by a thick, powerful ring of thunderstorms and a large band of thunderstorms extending north of the center.