Tropical Terrors in Twins and Triplets

The Pacific Ocean is often the scene of several simultaneous tropical cyclones. Here are a couple of recent examples.

 This is a visible image of Western North Pacific Supertyphoons Ivan and Joan at 2225 UTC October 17, 1997. Ivan (on the left) is approaching the Philippines, while Joan (on the right) is passing through the Mariana Islands. While the Western North Pacific is no stranger to either strong typhoons or multiple storms, it is somewhat unusual to have two such strong storms simultaneously. Both Ivan and Joan had maximum sustained winds near 180-185 mph during their lifetimes. Fortunately, although both storms hit or affected land, no land areas suffered through the worst either storm had to offer. (164K GIF)

 This is a multispectral image of South Pacific Tropical Cyclones Ron, Susan, and Katrina at 0330 UTC January 5, 1998. This image was put together by taking a visible image and using information from other satellite channels (such as the infrared) to color it. At this time, Ron and Susan were both strong hurricanes, while Katrina was still a tropical storm. Ron and Susan wound up with peak winds near 160 mph, while Katrina (which lasted until January 26 and later regenerated as Tropical Cyclone Victor over the Indian Ocean) managed peak winds of 105-115 mph. (209K GIF)

The first image is courtesy of Carol Vaughn of the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. They write a daily discussion of interesting satellite images, including tropical cyclones, volcanoes, thunderstorms and other satellite applications. Other information on Typhoons Ivan and Joan is available from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The second image is from the NOAA Significant Event Imagery Site. This site includes satellite imagery of significant meteorological or geological events, as well as other events that can be seen by weather satellites. Other information on South Pacific tropical cyclones, including advisories on cyclones such as Ron, is also available from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Also, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issues advisories for South Pacific tropical cyclones west of 160°E.

Interesting Image Page #4 - How Many Tropical Cyclones Are There In This Picture?

Interesting Image Page #6 - Supertyphoon Paka Hits Guam

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