Typhoon Megi Threatening Eastern China and Taiwan! (credit: CIMSS)

DISCUSSION: As Typhoon Megi continues on its current westward track across the far Western Pacific Ocean, you can see the gorgeous, symmetric structure associated with Megi as of earlier today (local time).  In the animated visible satellite imagery below, you can notice even more detailed structure associated with the classic banded outflow structure.  This is denoted by the healthy and symmetric outflow of cloud bands emanating from the center in a cyclonic direction.  Therefore, despite this storm's recent period of intensification occurred reasonably close to its first landfall projected for eastern parts of Taiwan, it still has become and will remain to be a very dangerous tropical cyclone.  Currently, Typhoon Megi has sustained winds of 115 MPH with maximum wind gusts up to or possibly just over 145 MPH.  This makes Megi the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane based upon the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (i.e., the intensity scale which rates hurricane based on the maximum sustained wind speed associated with a tropical cyclone at a given point in time).

To learn more about other high-impact weather events from across the Western Pacific Ocean, be sure to click here!

​~Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz