Super-Typhoon Vongfong

10/09/2014 Update:
Super-Typhoon Vongfong has weakened, although it is still packing quite a punch, with max sustained winds around 150 mph according to the 18z (2:00 PM EDT) Joint Typhoon Warning center update. Vongfong has begun its turn and is going almost due north, taking aim on Japan and associated islands. Okinawa island, one of the southernmost islands and home to the Kadena Airbase, is forecasted to get a glancing hit as the typhoon passes to its east. Vongfong will weaken as sea surface temperatures drop and shear increases and is expected to complete its transition to an extratropical storm (a low pressure system with fronts [really it's more complicated than that but this definition works well enough]) over northern Japan.

JTWC Forecast Graphic 10/09/2014 Vongfong is expected to landfall in Japan as a hurricane.

Microwave imagery shows that Vongfong has developed concentric eyewalls(rings of strong convection and precipitation) indicating a eyewall replacement cycle(EWRC) is occurring. As the inner eyewall collapses, the typhoon will weaken but may restrengthen if the outer eyewall is sufficiently well organized and contracts to replace the original eyewall.

Super Typhoon Vongfong on October 9th at 1:32PM Eastern Time. Notice the erosion of the northern periphery of the cloud pattern. This may indicate dry air intrusion, disrupting convection.

For those who want the know the background on the name Vongfong, it is a name contributed to the name list of typhoons in the West Pacific basin. Macau (Macao) a semi autonomous region of Southern  China, close to Hong Kong contributed this name. The name means "wasp" , probably in Cantonese, since the two main languages spoken are cantonese and chinese but the chinese word pinyin wasp is huang feng, similar but not the same as Vongfong.

Super Typhoon Vongfong as seen by Astonaut Reid Wiseman from the International Space Station at 7 am EDT October 9, 2014. Image credit: Reid Wiseman; and also: Dr. Jeff Masters;

ORIGINAL TEXT:
After a bout of rapid intensification, Vongfong achieved Super-Typhoon status, being upgraded to having estimated sustained winds of 180 mph and gusts up to 220 mph.

Super Typhoon Vongfong as seen in moonlight at 17:03 UTC (1:03 pm EDT) on October 7, 2014. At the time, Vongfong was a Category 5 storm with 180 mph winds. Image credit: Dan Lindsey, NOAA/NASA and RAMMB/CIRA.

Sunrise over Vongfong on October 8th 2014. Note the Stadium effect on the eye, which makes it seem larger than it actually is. Image courtesy of CMISS/University of Wisconsin

This is the strongest tropical cyclone since Super-Typhoon Haiyan late last year, which had estimated sustained winds of up to 195 mph. It struck the Philippines with estimated sustained winds of 190 mph.

Super Typhoon Vongfong

Super Typhoon Haiyan at peak right before landfall

Vongfong is not expected to hit land at full intensity. It is forecase to turn north from its current west heading, strengthening a little to 190 mph before weakening  as it recurves. Likewise to Typhoon Phanfone, earlier this week, Vongfong is forecast to strike Japan while weakening though it may still be a major typhoon when it crosses over some of the outer islands of Japan.

JTWC official warning graphic beginning October 7th