the SeaWiFS view of Typhoon Namtheun off the southeast
Typhoon Namtheun was off the southeast coast of Japan on Thursday, July 29,
2004 with maximum sustained winds of 87 mph (140 kph). This view was provided
by NASA's Aqua satellite.
The storm was expected to hit the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo, on Thursday. It will then likely cross Japan, forecasters said.
Typhoons and hurricanes are the same animals, going by different regional names. Both are tropical cyclones, meaning they are low-pressure systems that rotate counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and get their energy from warm ocean water.
The Atlantic Basin hurricane season, which runs June 1 through Nov. 30 and generates storms that can affect the United States, has been quiet so far. But that probably won't last. The season is expected have above normal activity, producing 12 to 15 tropical storms, with 6 to 8 of those becoming hurricanes, and 2 to 4 turning into major hurricanes.
-- Robert
Roy Britt
Credit: NASA/Aqua satellite/ MODIS Rapid Response
System
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