The strongest storm of the year is barreling through the Pacific right now, taking aim at Japan. And it is a monster. Super Typhoon Vongfong is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, with winds of up to 170 miles an hour.
That makes it one of the biggest storms the planet has ever seen. It is still four or five days away from Japan, but sounds like a MOTHER fucker. From the Capital Weather Gang, which went so far as to call it “wickedly beautiful.”
Vongfong, whose peak winds maxed out at nearly 180 mph Tuesday, became the strongest storm on Earth in 2014 . It is the most intense storm since Super Typhoon Haiyain, which killed over 6,000 people in the Philippines. The storm has ticked down modestly in intensity as of this morning but continues to boast an extraordinary presentation on satellite imagery.
It’s so big, the eye of the storm is 26 MILES across.
Close up of Super Typhoon #Vongfong's eye via @NASANPP VIIRS. Oct. 8, 2014 at 12:13 am EDT. (Image from RAMMB/CIRA) pic.twitter.com/42ziSs0zrN
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) October 8, 2014
Here’s a size comparison of it next to a little thing I like to call Asia.
Most powerful storm of the year holds onto title as it swirls toward Japan http://t.co/cI1IUD2Cwv pic.twitter.com/QjwQRtCCwm
— Andrew Freedman (@afreedma) October 8, 2014
"@GlobalBC: Super Typhoon Vongfong, w/ wind gusts over 300 kph, will move slowly towards Wrn. Japan… pic.twitter.com/fUnXsE3iF1" Wow, amazing!
— 🇨🇦 (@weatherwhiz) October 8, 2014
Thankfully, Vongfong is supposed to weaken tremendously before hitting Japan, at the country’s southernmost tip. Experts predict it will make landfall with winds of 85-110 mph.