It’s been a frightening month for people in the paths of monster storms. The latest is Typhoon Trami, which is on course to smack into Japan this week, bringing potentially devastating winds and rain along with it.
European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst is keeping an eye on the typhoon from his spot on board the International Space Station. Gerst posted some eye-popping images of the storm and its pit-like eye.
As if somebody pulled the planet’s gigantic plug. Staring down the eye of yet another fierce storm. Category 5 Super Typhoon Trami is unstoppable and heading for Japan and Taiwan. Be safe down there! #TyphoonTrami pic.twitter.com/4VmY2hhj2c
— Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex)
‘As if somebody pulled the planet’s gigantic plug. Staring down the eye of yet another fierce storm. Category 5 Super Typhoon Trami is unstoppable and heading for Japan and Taiwan. Be safe down there!’ Gerst wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.
Trami’s eye looks particularly startling in Gerst’s images, which include some close-ups of the storm’s center.
The views from the ISS are reminiscent of ones we saw of Hurricane Florence, which impacted parts of the US earlier this month. Flooding caused by Florence is still a problem for some residents of South Carolina.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US shared an infrared satellite view of Trami churning through the Pacific.
Night has fallen over Super Typhoon #Trami, but we can still see the storm in infrared. The #Himawari-8 satellite got this view of the powerful cyclone tracking east of Taiwan as it heads north toward #Japan‘s Ryukyu Islands later this week. More: https://t.co/Ns4sZ3pT1l pic.twitter.com/PgzR6iLZFi
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites)
Trami reached ‘super typhoon’ status earlier this week when it reached sustained winds of 150 mph (241 kph), according to the NOAA. The storm has since weakened slightly, but it remains a threat to people in its path.
