Typhoon Soulik

The last couple of days the weather weirdo in me has been clambering and prying its way out. 

TYPHOON!

This little gem has popped up over the Pacific and is making its way towards the South China Sea as we speak. 

Look at that circulation. The support bands.  The clusters of thunderstorms.  :D

Soulik is clocking in maximum sustained winds at around 130 kt and gusts up to 160 kt.  For those non-nautical/aviation folks, we're looking at a storm that has sustained winds in the range of 150 to 160 mph.  Soulik's eye is estimated to be about 25 nm across (just shy of 30 miles) and is incredibly well formed.  He's a Category IV for the time being.  So far, what makes this storm impressive is its height.  It seems to be extremely tall and is therefore capable of dumping absurdly huge amounts of rain.  There are very well formed thunderstorms that are supporting the typhoon which were photographed from a NASA satellite that flew over the area early this morning.  Favorable winds and water conditions will continue to fuel this storm as a Cat IV until it is just nearly directly south of Japan when it will encounter a subtropical steering ridge and turn towards the north.  At least, that is what the Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Pearl Harbor, HI is saying.  Soulik is right on the edge of being a supertyphoon right now and as it continues to build strength over warmer waters that classification should stand.

For a long time the NWS was showing the track of this storm much farther to the north.  They finally came around and admitted it is headed straight for Taiwan. 

The tracking for this storm has been wobbly at best.  I'm not used to following storms in the Pacific like this so I'm unfamiliar with their tendencies and also the tendencies of the reporting authorities.  As best as I can tell this storm is going to hit northern Taiwan with significant force if not the brunt of the storm.  The rocky geography of the island will take its toll and Soulik will be downgraded to a CAT I or TS before it reaches mainland China.  The diameter of the storm is out to about 200 nm right now and might contract as its strength grows.  No matter where the eye of the storm passes, I will be affected.


AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!  


Excuse me while I go hoard water and non-perishable foods.  I'll keep you updated as the storm progresses.  For now we have blue skies and big white puffy clouds.  I expect the wind to pick up tonight.