Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker


Sunday, August 07, 2011

Tropical Depression Merbok

Hurricane Season 2011: Tropical Storm Merbok (Western North Pacific Ocean) (

NASA Sees Typhoon Muifa Almost Twice as Big as Tropical Storm Merbok

In one image, NASA's Aqua satellite captured two tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific today, Tropical Storm Merbok and the large Typhoon Muifa. NASA Satellite imagery shows that Muifa is almost twice as big as Merbok [below].

Image courtesy of Nasa.Gov

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured Typhoon Muifa near Okinawa, Japan and Tropical Storm Merbok, farther east in the western Pacific at 4:35 UTC (12:35 a.m. EDT) on August 5, 2011. By having the storms side-by-side in one image, it is much easier to see how Merbok is a lot less organized than the more powerful Muifa. Muifa also has an eye, although cloud-filled, whereas Merbok does not.


Tropical storm Merbok is not a threat to land areas, and is moving around in the open waters of the North Pacific. It is located 675 miles west-northwest of Wake Island near 26.8N and 155.3E. Merbok's maximum sustained winds are near 50 knots, and tropical-storm force winds extend 120 miles from the center, making the storm 240 miles in diameter. Merbok is moving to the north-northwest at 8 knots and creating 21-foot high waves.

Merbok is strengthening as it moves northwest and is expected to make typhoon strength before weakening and curving northeast.

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